Firefighters from Dawlish and Teignmouth were called out on Friday after smoke was reported coming from a storage shed containing more than 30 tonnes of wood chip.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service's Fire Control received the call on August 28 and sent crews from Dawlish and Teignmouth fire stations.
On arrival, they found a plume of smoke coming from a large storage shed in Dawlish. On-site staff confirmed the biomass boilers had been shut down, and firefighters worked with them to establish the safest and most effective way to tackle the incident.
Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the shed to locate an auger system, where the fire was believed to have tracked through the woodchip. An additional fire appliance from Middlemoor was then requested as crews continued their investigations.
Using information from the breathing apparatus crews, firefighters worked with on-site staff and a digger to carefully remove the woodchip in an attempt to find the source of the combustion. A water bowser was also requested from Danes Castle to support firefighting operations.
Over the following hours, firefighters helped on-site staff dig out the woodchip and damp down hotspots. The incident was scaled back at around 11pm following an assessment and debrief.
However, crews were called back to the site at around 11.45pm after several deep-seated hotspots flared up again. Firefighters used a compressed air foam lance to penetrate the pockets of fire, while again working with site staff and their digger to remove surrounding woodchip.
Crews from Teignmouth returned to the site at 8am the following morning to carry out a scheduled revisit and ensure the area remained safe, while Dawlish crews were mobilised to another incident.
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