Just after 7pm last night, the Cabildo via the Tenerife Firefighters Consortium confirmed that they had the fire at a scrapyard on the Camino del Hermano Pedro in Granadilla de Abona under control, after three hours battling against it, thanks to the support of fire services from all over the island and a helicopter watering it from the air.
On social media the Fire Department detailed that the blaze, which started just after 4pm, looked more spectacular than it was dangerous due to the intensity of the smoke, the size of the flames, and the explosions of car batteries, tyres, and fuel tanks that hadn’t yet been taken out of the section of cars that caught fire.
In total, thirty firemen from San Miguel, Adeje, Guía de Isora, and Santa Cruz fought against the fire supported by six fire engines and ladder trucks, and a GES helicopter for reconnaissance and perimeter work, and two checkpoints were still in the area last night to ensure that any small explosion didn’t reactivate it.
It was workers at the yard that first notified emergency services of the fire, and in less than half an hour they were watering the flames and police had closed off the area to prevent access to the public.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to cut off the El Medano main road or the TF-1 motorway as the smoke rose vertically so didn’t affect the roads around the area, and AENA confirmed that the operation of the Tenerife Sur airport was not affected.
Emergency Services have confirmed that nobody was seriously hurt in the incident, although one worker and three firemen were treated for smoke inhalation.
Last night the Cabildo advised local residents to stay inside their homes with their windows closed as a precautionary measure to avoid being affected by the smoke from the fire, especially those in San Isidro, just over a kilometre from the scrapyard.
At this moment in time, the exact origin of the fire is not known but the Guardia Civil will carry out an investigation and analysis today to determine the cause.
