STEELWORKS FIRE: Tata aims to restart Hot Strip Mill mid-next week as fire crews finally leave Port Talbot after two days

The major fire at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot works has been brought to an end, with the final fire crews leaving the site on Friday morning — more than two days after the blaze broke out.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said its last crews left the scene at 9.34am on Friday, June 5.

The fire broke out at one of the site’s processing lines on the evening of Wednesday, June 3, and burned through the following day before it was finally extinguished.

The fire service has now revealed the full scale of the response, describing one of the most demanding operations it has faced in years.

Crews from 17 fire stations attended over the course of the incident — from Port Talbot, Neath and Morriston to as far afield as Carmarthen, Haverfordwest and Milford Haven — backed by colleagues from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Avon Fire and Rescue Service.

At its height, the fire service said, 31 fire engines and more than 100 firefighters were at the scene.

The building involved was a vast industrial structure measuring around 1,200 metres by 200 metres, used as a cold mill and pickle line, the service said.

Crews used four main jets, three ground monitors, thermal imaging cameras, breathing apparatus, three turntable ladders, a high-volume pump and a drone to bring the fire under control and monitor the scene.

At one stage, crews had to switch to defensive firefighting — tackling the blaze from a distance — because of concerns about the structure of the building.

It was a genuine multi-agency effort, with South Wales Police, the ambulance service, the Urban Search and Rescue Team, the Hazardous Area Response Team, Public Health Wales and Natural Resources Wales all involved.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zwNVWLRaysg

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service Chief Fire Officer Craig Flannery said crews had dealt with “a highly challenging industrial fire involving extensive infrastructure and hazardous materials.”

He said the scale of the incident, and the need to switch to defensive firefighting because of structural concerns, had “demonstrated the very highest standards of operational professionalism, decision-making, and discipline.”

Mr Flannery said: “Since Wednesday evening, we have responded to several significant and complex incidents, most notably the major fire at the Tata Steel site in Port Talbot and a further large-scale industrial fire at Neath Abbey Wharf. These incidents have required substantial resources, careful coordination, and prolonged operational commitment.”

He added: “I would like to extend my thanks to our operational crews and Joint Control Room operators for their professionalism and dedication. I would also like to recognise the strength of our partnership working, particularly the support provided by colleagues from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Avon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.”

His thanks came at the end of a punishing few days for the service, which was also fighting a separate large-scale fire at a recycling centre in Skewen on the Thursday.

What it means for the steelworks

As crews stood down, Tata Steel set out the impact of the fire on its operations and its plans to recover.

The company said the fire had been at its Pickle Line, and that its Hot Strip Mill had been temporarily taken offline during the incident.

Teams are now working towards a planned restart of the Hot Strip Mill in the middle of next week, Tata said.

In the meantime, the company said its supply chain teams were putting mitigation plans in place — including alternative processing at its Llanwern cold mill and pickle line — to maintain supply to customers.

A full assessment of the affected area is now under way, Tata added, saying its priority remained the safety of its staff and the stable operation of the site.

The company thanked its employees and the emergency services for their swift response.

A turbulent few days

The fire capped a dramatic period for the Port Talbot works. It broke out on Wednesday evening, when more than 100 firefighters from across Wales and the West of England were scrambled to the site overnight.

By the Thursday, part of the building had collapsed, with the union Unite warning of substantial damage to a vital production line and calling for jobs to be protected.

That evening, Tata said the fire had been restricted to a “confined area” of the Cold Mill, while crews continued to hold the scene.

First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth was among those to pay tribute to the emergency services during the response, thanking them for ensuring no one was harmed.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established.

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Over 100 firefighters tackle massive fire at Port Talbot steelworks
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"‘Burgerwetenschap’ onthult échte uitstoot Tata Steel

Zware metalen in je achtertuin en 25 procent meer kans op longkanker. Het zou maar door je buurman komen. Toch bleef landelijke verontwaardiging over de vervuiling door Tata Steel in Wijk aan Zee lang uit. Tót het plaatselijke burgerinitiatief Frisse Wind begon met ‘burgerwetenschap’. ‘Door ons camerabewijs stond Tata met hun broek op hun enkels.’

In het voorjaar van 2020 loopt een groep bezorgde ouders met witte papiertjes met magneten eronder door Wijk aan Zee, een badplaats in de provincie Noord-Holland met zo’n 2200 inwoners en een hechte dorpsgemeenschap. Het is een geliefde surfspot, met hotels, restaurants en terrasjes. Boven de idyllische witte huisjes met gekleurde luifels torenen de schoorstenen van Tata Steel uit."

‘Als de kinderen zwarte voeten hadden, dachten we: van buitenspelen word je vies’

‘Je moest niet zeuren, je was zelf naast de fabriek komen wonen’

‘De Omgevingsdienst deed eerder niets met meldingen van omwonenden’

‘Als ik vlucht, komt de volgende onwetende ziel hier wonen’

https://www.oneworld.nl/klimaat/burgerwetenschap-uitstoot-tata-steel-frisse-wind/

#klimaat #TataSteel

STEELWORKS 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.

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The January training exercise that saw crews rehearse a height rescue at the same site.

U.K. fire crews battle blaze at Tata Steel’s plant in Wales: The company said emergency services remain on site and are working with local teams to completely “extinguish the fire” #UKFire #TataSteel #PortTalbot #FireFighting #EmergencyServices

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PORT TALBOT: Steelworks fire burns into a second day as part of the building collapses — with union warning over jobs

The huge fire at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot works was still burning on Thursday, more than a day after it broke out — and crews are now battling a blaze that has buried itself beneath a collapsed building.

Part of the structure has caved in, making it far harder for firefighters to reach the flames, the Rapid Relief Team said after supporting crews at the scene.

A spokesman for the charity, which has been feeding responders throughout, said part of the building had “collapsed in” and that “a lot of machinery has fallen on top trapping the fire underneath.”

Live update from RRT Swansea who are still on scene supporting responders in Port Talbot at the Tata Steel incident.#rrtcares pic.twitter.com/OcRYDaV85W

The fire broke out at one of the site’s processing lines at around 8pm on Wednesday. All staff were accounted for and evacuated safely, as more than 100 firefighters were thrown at the blaze through the night — crews drawn from 16 stations across south and west Wales, with reinforcements from South Wales and Avon.

By Thursday afternoon the picture had hardened from “ongoing” to something more serious, with confirmation of significant damage and a fire that was proving stubborn to put out.

The union Unite said the blaze had caused “substantial damage to a vital production line” — and moved quickly to put jobs at the centre of the story.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham thanked the emergency services for bringing the situation under control so quickly, and said no one had been hurt and workers had been evacuated safely.

But she warned: “Measures must now be put in place to protect jobs both at Tata and down the supply chain during any period of disruption.”

She added that the union was asking Tata and the government to ensure that operations were “rebuilt as swiftly as possible.”

Unite Wales secretary Peter Hughes said the union was committed to working with the company to secure the long-term future of Port Talbot and the wider Tata operation in the UK.

The jobs warning lands in a town already on edge. 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 to a greener electric arc furnace, with steel processing continuing in the meantime. A fire on one of those remaining lines is the last thing the workforce needed.

There was at least some reassurance for residents. Welsh Government monitoring showed air pollution in Port Talbot classed as low on Thursday, though officials note the effects of a fire can be localised — and South Wales Police’s advice for nearby residents to keep windows and doors shut still stands.

It was a punishing shift for the crews. The Rapid Relief Team said it served around 150 hot meals through the night and a further 70 on Thursday morning to keep responders going, with firefighters, ambulance HART medics and high-volume pump crews all rotating through its support tent.

Among the stations that sent crews through the night was Ammanford’s Station 57, which said its firefighters had worked alongside colleagues “from across the Service” and thanked partners on site for their cooperation.

The works is no stranger to those crews. In January, firefighters scaled a 32-metre tower at the steelworks in a dramatic multi-agency rescue drill — an exercise designed partly to test Tata’s emergency protocols in a live industrial setting. Months later, the same teams were back fighting the real thing.

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.

Tata Steel has stressed the fire was not connected to the controlled demolition of an empty, redundant gas holder carried out at the site earlier on Wednesday evening, which it called safe and successful.

The cause has not been established, and the company has said it cannot yet assess the full damage.

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.

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Over 100 firefighters from across Wales and the West of England tackle massive fire at Port Talbot steelworks
Our first report on the blaze, as crews from 16 stations battled through the night.

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Tata Steel sets out demands for next Welsh Government amid £1.25bn transformation
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The 200-tonne waste blaze that gripped the town just five weeks earlier.

Over 100 firefighters from across Wales and the West of England tackle massive fire at Port Talbot steelworks

A huge fire tore through Tata Steel’s Port Talbot works on Wednesday night, throwing thick black smoke across the town and lighting the night sky a furious orange.

Flames ripped through one of the site’s processing lines from around 8pm, sending a vast plume over the M4 and sparking one of the biggest fire responses the area has seen this year.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service was called at 8.06pm — and the scale of the response tells its own story.

Appliances were sent from 16 of its stations: Port Talbot, Neath, Morriston, Glynneath, Cymmer, Swansea West, Swansea Central, Pontarddulais, Llanelli, Carmarthen, Ammanford, Gorseinon, Pontyates, Kidwelly, Haverfordwest and Milford Haven.

With each appliance crewed by four or five firefighters, several stations sending more than one engine, and command units on top, that points to well over 80 Mid and West Wales firefighters tackling the blaze at its peak — before reinforcements from two other services are even counted.

Some came from the far end of the patch. Milford Haven’s crew faced a journey of more than 70 miles to reach it.

And that was just one fire service. On top of its own crews, Mid and West Wales called in colleagues from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, and from Avon Fire and Rescue Service — based over the Prince of Wales Bridge in and around Bristol, also more than 70 miles away.

Tata Steel said the fire broke out at one of the site’s processing lines and that all staff were accounted for and evacuated safely.

Photographs released by the fire service showed flames glowing through the cladding of one of the vast sheds, with firefighters training hoses on the building as smoke rolled overhead.

Kellie Evans, who drove past as the blaze took hold, told the BBC the scene was “very apocalyptic,” saying the sky was so black she couldn’t see the flames — and that drivers were pulling over to look.

South Wales Police told residents to keep their windows and doors shut and urged people to stay away. Large plumes of smoke were visible across the area, the force said, and drivers were asked to find alternative routes.

It was a brutal night for the crews. The Rapid Relief Team, which feeds the emergency services at major incidents, said around 100 responders faced an “incredibly demanding and hazardous” shift.

The charity said eight fire appliances, two foam units, two high-reach turntable platforms and a high-volume pump were thrown at the fire, and that its volunteers turned out 125 hot meals through the night to keep crews going.

By Thursday morning the worst was over. Heavy overnight rain helped beat the flames back, leaving only small wisps of smoke drifting from the rolling mill end of the plant.

Traffic on the M4, slowed by the smoke overnight, was flowing freely again, and from the outside the works looked much as normal — though crews remained busy inside.

Tata Steel moved quickly to head off speculation about the cause, stressing the fire was not connected to the controlled demolition of an empty, redundant gas holder carried out at the site earlier that evening, which it called safe and successful.

That demolition is part of a sweeping clear-out of the old works. In January, Tata released footage from deep inside the plant showing the scale of the demolition and reconstruction now under way as it clears redundant structures to make way for its new electric arc furnace.

The cause of the fire has not been established, and the company said it could not yet assess the damage.

In a statement, Tata thanked its site teams and the emergency services for their “prompt and professional action,” and said further updates would follow.

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 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.

The transition has meant huge upheaval in and around the works, from the demolition now reshaping the site to a major expansion of the local electricity network needed to power the new furnace. Steel processing — turning imported slabs into finished products — has continued throughout in the absence of the furnaces.

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

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.

Inside the giant Port Talbot steelworks overhaul as Tata clears the way for new Electric Arc Furnace
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Tata Steel sets out demands for next Welsh Government amid £1.25bn transformation
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The electricity network upgrade needed to power the new furnace.

Fire crews battling large blaze at Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot: A large fire has broken out at the Tata Steel plant in south Wales, with fire crews tackling the blaze. #PortTalbot #TataSteel #Firefighters #SteelPlant #EmergencyServices

https://umlegacypressqsefc.com/2026/06/04/fire-crews-battling-large-blaze-at-tata-steel-plant-in-port-talbot-a-large-fire-has-broken-out-at-the-tata-steel-plant-in-south-wales-with-fire-crews-tackling-the-blaze-porttalbot-tatasteel-fire/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Wat ik in de discussie rondom #DonaldPols vind ontbreken? Het Indiase perspectief.

#TataSteel is een Indiaas bedrijf. Tata Steel IJmuiden is een volle dochter. India was het eerste land dat de handels- en diplomatieke betrekkingen met #ZuidAfrika verbrak vanwege het apartheidsbeleid, door in 1946 een volledig embargo in te stellen. Decennialang heeft India de anti-apartheidsstrijd bij de #VerenigdeNaties bepleit en uitgebreide morele en materiële steun verleend aan het Afrikaans Nationaal Congres (#ANC).

Iemand in een directie in een dochteronderneming, die vroeger het apartheidsregime in Zuid-Afrika heeft ondersteund, is in Indiase ogen onaanvaardbaar. Ik geloof dat de Indiase media en kranten daar gehakt van hadden gemaakt. Niet omdat Pols toen extreemrechts was, maar omdat hij voor #Apartheid was.

Tata Steel fire live: Port Talbot site alarms sound as black smoke pours into sky

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tata-steel-fire-live-port-37245778