A FIRE at a Chippenham storage yard, which involved 10 tonnes of plastic and live power cables and sent a thick plume of smoke hanging over the town, was started by accident, a fire investigation has decided.

Five fire engines from Chippenham, Corsham, Calne, Melksham and Trowbridge attended the blaze at Wavin Plastics on Saturday (July 2), after crews were called out at 2.34pm and found approximately 10 tonnes of packaged and palleted PVC product on fire.

They were aided by the heavy rescue unit from Trowbridge and a water carrier from Royal Wootton Bassett as thick smoke was seen billowing into the sky from across Chippenham.

Police also attended to help with road closures and crowd control, as people poured on to the streets to watch the blaze.

The fire was brought under control with the final crew leaving the scene at 5.45pm and the cause was investigated.

Wavin Plastics, on Parsonage Way, confirmed production had not been affected by the fire and they do not expect interruption to customer orders.

Site operations manager Alex Perry said: “We are fully committed to the health and safety of our employees, customers and neighbours.

“We wish to thank the quick response from the fire brigade who quickly brought the fire under control which ensured no-one was injured and damage was limited.”

The company confirmed that no-one was injured and that the damage was limited to a section of products on pallets.

They added that “The fire brigade complimented Wavin on the response from their team and the layout of the yard which helped to minimise the spread of the fire.”

A spokesman for Wiltshire and Dorset Fire Service said: “We still don’t know the chain of events but we’re very comfortable that it was an accident.

“The most likely reason for the fire having started and the likelihood is something to do with those electric cables.”

Established in 1962, Wavin Limited is one of the UK’s leading supplier of water management, plumbing, heating and drainage systems for the building, construction and utilities markets.

Based in the The Netherlands, Wavin Group is located in more than 25 countries and employs approximately 5,500 people with annual revenues of around €1.2 billion.