No jobs will be lost at green energy company Brocklesby despite the “devastating” fire which hit the site on Christmas Day.
More than 50 firefighters tackled the blaze at the East Yorkshire business, which converts edible oils and fats into energy.
Crews from Humberside Fire and Rescue remained at the site in North Cave overnight and into Boxing Day, and investigations are now underway into the cause of the fire.
Brocklesby, a family business founded in 1987, said “significant damage” had been caused to its facility.
However, in better news, bosses have now confirmed no job losses will be made as a result of the blaze.
The business said in an updated statement on Friday morning: “On Christmas Day, a large fire took hold at our North Cave site.
“Thankfully, the fire posed no immediate risk to the public, no one was injured or harmed and the police and fire service were swift to respond. The fire is now out and work is underway to begin the clean-up operation.
“This is a shocking, devastating incident for the company and everyone who works here. Despite the impact of the fire, there will be no job losses as a result and all staff are returning to work as planned.”
Brocklesby is a family-owned business which specialises in the recycling of used edible oils and fatty food waste.
It converts the waste into feedstock which is used for biofuel and renewable energy. In 1996 – just nine years after its launch – Brocklesby had outgrown its original site in Hull, and moved to a new 10-acre facility in North Cave.
Today, the company employs almost 50 local people and has a turnover of £16.8m.
Smoke filled the sky above North Cave on Christmas Day, as ten engines raced to the site to tackle the fire.
The fire service and Humberside Police were both called out to Crosslands Lane in the village at around 7pm on December 25, and a near-24-hour operation to bring the fire under control followed.
It is understood that around 600 tonnes of "vegetable oil" caught fire, sparking the large flames.
Brocklesby said: “Thanks to the actions by crews and staff at Humberside Fire and Rescue Service and Humberside Police, while the site has suffered significant damage, it is business as usual while the clean-up takes place and we hope to be back up and running as normal very soon.
“We are continuing to work closely with the fire investigators to confirm the circumstances and cause of this fire.
“We have a great team here at Brocklesby and many members of staff have returned to work early to get us back to normal as quickly as possible.”
In 2017, Brocklesby invested £14m in a new anaerobic digestion plant. The plant converts food waste into green energy, capable of powering 11,000 homes.
It also allows Brocklesby to run all of its own site and operations using renewable power.
Processing up to 60,000 tonnes of food waste every year, Brocklesby’s bio gas facility supplies 3.5MW of electricity to the national grid.
