LAST UPDATE | 9 Jan 2021
FIRE CREWS ARE remaining at the site of a major blaze at Cork Port earlier today throughout the night.
The fire broke out at an animal feed storage facility near the Port of Cork this morning and was brought under control.
No casualties have been reported and emergency services remain at the scene to monitor the situation.
Cork County Council issued a statement this evening to say that the fire was brought under control at 10am and remains contained.
The council said that “Fire Service Crews are maintaining a presence on site to expose and extinguish any hot spots that many exist within the storage facility”.
“As Fire Crews manage this incident and remove panels from the structures to access hot spots, any flare up may produce fresh smoke,” it said.
“Cork County Council would like to reassure members of the public that this is a standard approach to managing an incident such as this, which involves natural, organic animal feed.”
The fire broke out at the R&H Hall grain store for animal feed on the Ringaskiddy Deepwater Berth, the Port of Cork’s Twitter account said.
R&H Hall have apologised to “local residents, neighbouring businesses and our customers for any inconvenience caused by the incident”.
“We would like to thank the emergency services and the Port of Cork team for their quick response and ongoing management of the incident,” it said.
The Port’s ‘emergency plan’ was activated when the fire broke out; firefighters and gardaí attended the scene.
Locals were advised to keep all doors and windows closed, and to remain indoors.
Minister for Public Expenditure and Cork TD Michael McGrath warned people to stay away from the area.
At 10.43am, the Port of Cork issued a statement to confirm that the fire was under control and there were no reports of any casualties.
As a precaution, all ship operations in Ringaskiddy were suspended until further notice.
Additional reporting by Lauren Boland
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