RESIDENTS have complained to the Ombudsman about a perceived lack of fire safety assessments at proposed gas plant plans north of Carlisle. 

Campaigner and spokesperson for Carlisle Residents Against Incinerator (CRAIN), David Mudge, has written to the local government Ombudsman about Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service's consultation comments on the planning application for the waste gasification incinerator at North West Recycling in Rockcliffe, Carlisle.

Mr Mudge said: "The only building proposed for the site is a small toilet and office.

"The fire service is concerned about sprinklers in the toilets, but has nothing to say about the risks of producing flammable and explosive gases near sources of ignition." 

According to the group, there have been at least nine significant fires attended by the fire service at waste sites in north Carlisle in recent years.

Sally Tears, of Rockcliffe and District Action Group, said: "This shows fire safety at Carlisle waste plants is not adequate."

The site of the proposed waste gasification incinerator is at the site of a fire in 2021 that burnt for a month, forcing residents to mitigate exposure to smoke by keeping doors and windows closed. 

The subsequent multiagency debrief report says the fire was left to burn because "water supplies on and surrounding the incident site would not be sufficient for the copious amounts of water that were going to be required to attack the fire and that the amount of fire water run-off could potentially have a detrimental effect on the surrounding water courses".

Residents fear the same thing could happen again. 

"The Grenfell Tower inquiry shows how public safety is compromised when fire services make inadequate assessments of fire safety risks," Ms Tears said. 

"The fire service was asked by the planning office to comment on the proposed gasification waste incinerator.

"To discover they gave it the green light without a detailed assessment is truly shocking."

Brian Massie, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service’s assistant chief fire officer, said: "Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service ensures that all planning applications on which it is consulted are assessed against access for emergency vehicles and water supply.

"These are the only criteria against which the service is able to respond.

"In terms of the application in question, we are satisfied that the site would remain accessible to emergency vehicles in the event of an incident, and that sufficient water for firefighting purposes would be available should an emergency occur.

"This is the view of our suitably qualified and experienced fire protection inspectors.

"Additionally, we did advise the applicant to consider the inclusion of a sprinkler system within the design of the new premises.

"This advice is provided to all new commercial developments," he said.