More than 50 firefighters worked through the night to bring a major fire at a scrap metal recycling facility under control following an incident that forced a cruise ship to depart early from Belfast Harbour.
Emergency services were called to Clearway Disposals on East Twin Road in Belfast's dock area at 12:14pm on 2 September 2026 after a fire broke out involving a quantity of cars. According to local news reports, five fire appliances attended the scene along with a high volume pump, aerial appliance and command support unit.
Large plumes of black smoke surrounded the area, visible for miles across the city. The smoke prompted the Viking Sky cruise ship to leave three hours earlier than scheduled, with Belfast Harbour confirming the captain and cruise operator made the decision to depart.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) area commander David Harbison described the operation as "very challenging". The facility contains approximately 4,500 tonnes of loose metal and vehicles, presenting significant difficulties for firefighting efforts.
"We're trying to break up the parts of scrap metal with heavy onsite machinery and firefighters are then using jets, a ground monitor and a high-reach aerial appliance to extinguish the fire,"Harbison explained. He noted that two high-volume pumps had been deployed throughout the operation.
"We do require an extensive amount of water to deal with this,"he added.
According to reports from the scene, the blaze was expected to continue burning overnight, indicating that crews had not yet fully extinguished the fire by late Wednesday evening.
What precautions were put in place?
Nearby residents and businesses were advised to keep their windows and doors closed as a precaution against smoke inhalation. Members of the public were instructed to avoid the area entirely to allow emergency services to continue their work unimpeded.
"If you're driving past in a vehicle maybe turn off your air conditioning units,"Harbison advised.
"Equally, stay away from the area, allow your fire service to continue with their operations and be patient with us while we deal with this."
What caused the fire?
The cause of the blaze remained under investigation at the time of reporting. However, Harbison highlighted a growing concern within the fire service.
"It is recognised across the UK and wider across the world that lithium-ion batteries are becoming a challenge for the fire sector so we would suspect that,"he said, suggesting that battery-related materials at the recycling facility may have contributed to the incident.
What is the history of fires at this site?
This was not the first major fire at Clearway Disposals. Another significant blaze occurred at the same facility in May 2026, when approximately 60 firefighters tackled a large scrap metal fire. That earlier incident involved a pile of scrap metal measuring approximately 50 metres by 50 metres, demonstrating that the site has experienced a pattern of large and difficult fires.
Belfast Harbour Police confirmed they were working closely with NIFRS and staff at the facility to manage the incident and coordinate the emergency response.
What happens next?
Crews were expected to continue working through the night to fully extinguish the fire, with no firm end time provided for the operation. The extended nature of the firefighting effort reflected the scale and complexity of the blaze at the recycling facility.
