The council, through establishment of an Incident Response Group, has been coordinating information & guidance from appropriate agencies with statutory responsibilities to respond to such an incident.
Site visits earlier today by Scottish Fire and Rescue Services, SEPA and East Lothian Council Environmental Health Officers have confirmed actions taken by the site manager to suppress the fire have been successful. Smoke emissions have reduced greatly with further scheduled works expected to lead to complete suppression of the fire.
Weather conditions and forecast for later today and into the weekend suggest light and variable winds which will move any residual smoke plumes off the coast in an easterly direction. Temperatures are expected to be higher than the seasonal norm with little rainfall.
Residents and visitors to Dunbar and surrounding coastal areas are advised to remain mindful of the current situation and can seek reassurance if required via the following agencies:
- SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) has the national role in Scotland in protecting the environment and human health including environmental regulation, mitigating and adapting to climate change, monitoring and reporting on the state of our environment, raising awareness of environmental issues and resolving environmental harms. Any public concerns about environmental impacts can be reported online: Report Environmental Events to SEPA
- If anyone has an existing respiratory condition and they notice a deterioration in symptoms, they should contact NHS24 on 111 or seek advice on NHS Inform. NHS Lothian’s Health Protection Team provide a 24 hour service, 7 days a week Tel: 0131 536 1000 or email: Health.Protection@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
- Food Standards Scotland is the public agency with a remit which includes protecting the public from risks to health which may arise in connection with the consumption of food. Any concerns about agricultural crops or fruit and vegetables in gardens in the Dunbar area can be raised via their contact email: Enquiries@fss.scot