Fly-tipping delays firefighter response

12/10/2023

Firefighters were delayed when responding to an emergency when they encountered fly-tipping on their route.

Crews from Sawston and Linton, along with a crew from Saffron Walden in Essex, were making their way to a road traffic collision on M11 last week when they came across a large pile of dumped rubbish blocking the road.

A fire service spokesman said: “The crew from Sawston was travelling along a service road when they encountered colleagues from Saffron Walden, who were stopped in front of them. Once they got closer they noticed a pile of fly tipped rubbish. The crews started to remove the blockage so they could continue to make their way to the incident, when they were joined by a crew from Linton. All three crews worked together to clear the blockage as quickly as possible and made their way to the road traffic collision. This delayed the crews getting to the incident by around six minutes.

“Fortunately, in this situation the casualty involved in the collision was able to be safely removed from their vehicle by the ambulance service. Had they have been trapped either mechanically or medically the situation could have been much worse.”

This incident highlights the importance of disposing of rubbish properly, as the consequences of leaving it can be severe.

“Fly-tipping rubbish not only causes environmental issues, but can pose significant risks for firefighters. Not only can it block them responding, as it did in this incident, but it also can encourage people to set fire to it. These deliberate fires can spread quickly causing significant damage and injury.”

More information about safely disposing of waste can be found on the Cambridgeshire County Council website.