Huge wood fire in Iver

A 100-metre square pile of wood ten metres high, believed to be on a business premises in Court Lane, was reported to be on fire just after 8pm last night.

Seven fire engines are currently at the scene, including crews from High Wycombe, Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross and Stokenchurch.

Described as a “protracted incident”, firefighters could be at the scene for much of the rest of the day.

Group Manager Greg Smith, incident commander, said: “On arrival, crews were faced with a well-developed fire in an extensive pile of wood chippings, estimated at over 100,000 cubic metres.

“Our priority was to secure a sustained water supply in order protect surrounding buildings by drawing water from the nearby canal and using a hose-laying appliance to lay a line of hose from a fire yydrant some distance away.

“The longer-term plan was activated at first light by using heavy duty plant to cut a fire break either side of the fire in order for us to extinguish it in a controlled and safe manner.

“This course of action saved a significant amount of the wood chippings and reduced the time we were committed on scene by a considerable margin.

“Firefighters from three different fire and rescue services worked extremely hard to stop this incident escalating and this is an excellent example of inter-service working arrangements.”