New foam used in major Leominster fire (From Hereford Times)

New foam used in major Leominster fire

1:53pm Wednesday 17th June 2009 in

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THE Skymark blaze in Leominster is under control after one of the first UK uses of a new firefighting foam.

Faced with a worsening situation over the morning, fire chiefs ordered the foam to be pumped onto the scene.

By 1pm the blaze was brought under control having been expected to burn for days.

Toxic palls of smoke that billowed across Leominster over the morning have also died down, but the risk from chemical contamination remains high.

The new Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) is specifically designed for firefighting in rural areas where water is scarce.

With the foam deployed specialist search crews could get into the factory site to guide hosereel teams to fire seats.

A joint press conference on the operation - hosted by all three emergency services - is due at 3pm today. Decisions on the return of evacuated families to their homes and other disruption caused by the blaze is expected around the same time.