‘Great blaze in the sky’ – Locals react after lightning strikes waste processing facility in Oxford

« Local resident commented on Tuesday after a massive fireball lit up the night sky in Oxford on Monday night.
“They looked and said they could see this great blaze in the sky. It was really sort of lighting up Oxford,” said Louise, explaining how her son witnessed the blaze.
“I didn’t hear anything but we obviously heard a lot of thunder and lightning and had a big power cut. That’s all we knew until we heard the news. And obviously the fire,” said Freya, another local resident.
On Monday evening, a tank at the Severn Trent Green Power site in Cassington, Oxfordshire, was struck by lightning, leading to the ignition and explosion of the gases it contained and a fire spreading to nearby buildins. Three of five tanks were damaged in the accident; a huge fireball was seen in the moment of the explosion according to local media.
Firefighters have worked throughout the night to contain the blaze, which has been brought under control with no casualties reported at the time of publication.
In 2016, a lightning strike ignited methane stored in a waste digester at Benson, near Wallingford, Oxfordshire, which was operated by the company Agrivert. This incident caused a fire that lasted for 20 minutes and resulted in the destruction of the roof. »



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