Kit PetersSTEELWORKS FIRE: Tata says blaze restricted to ‘confined area’ of Cold Mill but is unable to assess damage while crews remain on site
The major fire at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot works has been brought under control, more than 20 hours after it tore through one of the site’s processing lines.
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service remained on site into Thursday evening, keeping control of the area of the Cold Mill where the fire broke out the night before.
Because crews were still holding the area, Tata Steel said it was not yet able to assess the cause of the fire, the scale of the damage, or the potential impact on its operations.
But the company moved to reassure on the wider site. A spokesperson said the fire had been “restricted to a confined area,” and that while the Hot Rolling Mill was paused as a precaution, it was unaffected and was expected to restart production shortly.
Tata said it was “investigating a number of options in order to minimise the potential impact on its downstream businesses and external customers.”
The update marked a calmer moment at the end of a dramatic 24 hours at the steelworks.
The fire broke out at around 8pm on Wednesday at one of the site’s processing lines. More than 100 firefighters from across Wales and the West of England were thrown at it through the night, with crews drawn from 16 stations as far afield as Milford Haven, backed by colleagues from South Wales and Avon. All staff were accounted for and evacuated safely.
The scale of the response told its own story, with the Rapid Relief Team — which supports crews at major incidents — describing an “incredibly demanding and hazardous” night and serving around 150 meals to responders.
The response drew praise from the highest level of Welsh government. First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth thanked the emergency services, whose “heroic efforts ensured no one was harmed during the major fire at Tata Steel in Port Talbot.”
“I am very grateful for their outstanding service and commitment,” he said.
By Thursday, the fire had proved stubborn. Part of the building had collapsed, with fallen machinery trapping the fire beneath it and making it harder for crews to reach the flames.
It was at that point that the union Unite struck a more cautious note than the company would later take, warning the blaze had caused substantial damage to a vital production line and calling for jobs to be protected at Tata and down the supply chain during any disruption.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham thanked the emergency services and said no one had been hurt, but warned that “measures must now be put in place to protect jobs both at Tata and down the supply chain during any period of disruption.”
That tension — between the company’s reassurance and the union’s caution — is likely to define the story in the days ahead, with the true picture unlikely to become clear until crews hand the Cold Mill back and a damage assessment can begin.
The cause of the fire has not been established. Tata has stressed it was not connected to the controlled demolition of an empty, redundant gas holder carried out at the site earlier on Wednesday evening, which it described as safe and successful.
The steelworks blaze was not the only major incident facing the fire service. In the early hours of Thursday, crews were called to a separate fire at a recycling centre at Neath Abbey Wharf in Skewen, several miles away — an incident the service says was also still ongoing.
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said no appliances or officers were redeployed from the Tata response to deal with it, and that it had maintained effective operational cover across its area throughout.
It is the second major fire to grip Port Talbot in barely five weeks. At the end of April, a huge blaze involving around 200 tonnes of commercial waste sent black smoke billowing over the town from an industrial site on Dock Road, tying up eight fire stations for days.
The works is no stranger to the crews who fought the blaze. In January, firefighters scaled a 32-metre tower at the steelworks in a multi-agency rescue drill designed to test emergency protocols at the site.
The Port Talbot works is one of the largest steel sites in the world and the region’s biggest industrial employer. Tata closed its two blast furnaces in 2024 with thousands of job losses, and is in the middle of a £1.25bn transformation of the site, switching from coal-fired blast furnaces to a greener electric arc furnace that will melt scrap steel — with steel processing continuing in the meantime.
This is a developing story and we will bring you more as we get it. Anyone affected by smoke is advised to keep windows and doors closed.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Over 100 firefighters from across Wales and the West of England tackle massive fire at Port Talbot steelworks
Our first report as crews from 16 stations battled the blaze through the night.
Steelworks fire burns into a second day as part of the building collapses
The fire proved stubborn as Unite warned over jobs and damage to a production line.
Huge industrial fire sends black smoke billowing over Port Talbot as eight fire stations scramble to Dock Road
The 200-tonne waste blaze that gripped the town just five weeks earlier.
Fire crews scale 32-metre tower in dramatic rescue drill at Tata Steel Port Talbot
The January training exercise that saw crews rehearse a height rescue at the same site.
Simon Brooke
Iona Fyfe
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