Cylinder discovery leads to safety cordon

The railway line through Trowbridge could remain closed until lunchtime tomorrow (11 September) following a fire in Drynham Lane this morning.

Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service has placed a 200m cordon around the scene following the discovery of a cylinder, believed to contain acetylene, at the fire’s centre.

Crews were called to the scrapyard at 11.42am after a car caught fire while being worked on with hot cutting equipment. The blaze quickly spread to four nearby scrap vehicles and a transport container.

Two appliances from Trowbridge, one from Westbury and a water carrier from Pewsey attended the scene and successfully dealt with the fire. However, firefighters have been withdrawn from the scene for safety as there is a risk that the cylinder could explode.

Station Manager Andy Green, the incident commander, said: “The police have evacuated two nearby homes and closed the road to ensure the safety of local people, and Network Rail has closed the adjacent railway line. We believe that this cylinder contains acetylene and, as such, we will be maintaining the 200m cordon for 24 hours to allow it to safely cool. Water has been spraying onto the cylinder all afternoon and we will continue that throughout the night.”

Attempts are now being made to confirm the cylinder’s contents.

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