FIREFIGHTERS have worked through the night at a blaze at a battery recycling centre which broke out a year after another fire there.
Six fire engines went to the scene in West Byrehill Industrial Estate, in Kilwinning in North Ayrshire, when the alarm was raised at 12.42pm on Wednesday.
Several nearby houses were evacuated “as a precaution”, but people were later allowed to return home.
Huge plumes of smoke were seen billowing from Fenix Battery Recycling, a year after a fire at the site, in April 2024.
NEW: Footage has captured large plumes of smoke billowing from a battery storage plant in Kilwinning almost exactly a year after a huge blaze at the same site Credit: Joshua Fryer pic.twitter.com/UUSJJrxIRV
— The National (@ScotNational) April 9, 2025
A fire appliance remained at the site throughout the night and a fire engine was still there at 6.30am on Thursday morning.
People living nearby are being advised to be keep windows and doors shut and vents closed, and not to pick up any batteries or debris in the surrounding area.
There are no reports of any injuries.
After the fire at the centre last year, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) suspended Fenix Battery Recycling's waste management licence.
Sepa chief operating officer Lin Bunten said at the time: "We partially suspended Fenix Battery Recycling Ltd’s licence last year when it failed to comply with a previous enforcement notice we served.
"We will not hesitate to take further action, in line with our enforcement policy, as required."
Among the guidelines the firm had to meet were repairing damaged infrastructure and implementing a fire prevention plan.
