Huge blaze engulfs recycling plant as 27 fire engines rush in to battle inferno raging for TWO DAYS

Ed Griffiths
Sat, 18 Apr 2026 10:15:46 +0000

A huge blaze has engulged a recycling plant in Norfolk as 27 fire engines have been deployed to deal with the inferno that has been raging for two days.

Wiser Recycling in Thetford, Norfolk, has been engulfed in flames since 7pm on Thursday and is "heavily damaged", according to authorities.

Footage circulating online shows thick black smoke covering the sky as the site continued to burn through the building.

Fire engines have surrounded the site as services look to contain the inferno.

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Surrounding businesses have been told to evacuate, causing significant disruption to recycling services across Norfolk, as firefighters worked through the night on Thursday and into Friday.

It is understood that the fire was linked to lithium-ion batteries stored at the site.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service provided an update on the situation, with crews remaining at the scene into the early hours of Saturday.

Residents have been informed that they can reopen doors and windows as the force scales down its response.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service said: "We are now scaling down this incident, but will have a presence on scene throughout this evening (Friday).

"Local residents are advised they can resume usual activities and the safety advice below around doors and windows is no longer required.

"We would continue to ask people to stay back from the immediate area to allow us to work and would like to thank the local community for their understanding and support last night and today.

"The fire in Brunel Way, Thetford, continues to burn but our crews’ skilled work throughout the night means we have been able to scale back resources on scene."

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They added: "There are now two aerial ladder platforms and five appliances at the site.

"But during the course of the fire we and Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service have had 27 appliances in attendance, supported by officers and specialist vehicles and an extremely busy Fire Control.

"We’d like to thank everyone in the area for allowing us to carry out our work and for following our advice to keep all doors and windows closed due to the smoke. Please continue to do this throughout the day today.

"And thank you to all our crews, fire control, officers, crews from Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service and our support staff who have been working on this incident and others in the county since yesterday.

"Although no-one has been injured in this fire, our thoughts are with the business affected and its staff."

A spokesman for Wiser said no injuries had been reported and the fire was “quickly brought under control”.

They added: "Safety has always been our top priority.

"We are conducting a thorough assessment of the site and reviewing our processes to understand the cause and further strengthen our preventative measures.

"Operations continue across our other facilities, and we are working to minimise any disruption to our partners and customers.”