THE last firefighters left the scene of a major blaze at a waste recycling plant in Shipley over two days after it had first started.

Crews were called to the fire at AWM, in Valley Road, at around 2.30am on Saturday, but some firefighters did not leave until 9.30am yesterday, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) confirmed.

A spokesperson from FRS said yesterday: “Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing. Firefighters left the scene at around 9.30am this morning. The site has been handed back to onsite security.”

At the height of the fire, 15 fire engines from across the brigade were at the scene along with two aerial appliances and support pumps.

Plumes of smoke could still be seen as dawn broke and residents were advised to keep their doors and windows closed. An onlooker said “thick, acrid” smoke was hanging over the area.

See our before and after sliders below.

One pump from Shipley Fire Station was still on hand early yesterday morning - two days after the blaze began - to keep an eye on the situation. A spokesperson said at the time: “There’s no firefighting, we’re just monitoring and a decision will be made later today on the building.”

Close to 100 per cent of the building was involved in the fire and it had been “substantially damaged” according to a WYFRS spokesman.

Structural engineers were on hand across the weekend to assess the safety of the building, after it was initially described as being unstable.

A Bradford Council spokesperson, said: “A building control officer from Bradford Council met with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Railtrack, AWM Waste Management and their demolition contractor to discuss the parts of the building that needed to be made safe.”

They added: “Once the building is made safe any decision regarding the overall demolition of the building will be made by the owners.”

The fire caused major disruption on the road and rail network throughout much of Saturday.

Valley Road, the main route into Bradford from Baildon and Shipley, was shut for much of the day whilst fire crews tackled the blaze.

All lines were blocked between the Bradford Forster Square and Shipley stations, but eventually reopened later in the afternoon. This also impacted the journeys of spectators heading to Bradford City’s first home game of the season at Valley Parade.

The Environmental Agency for Yorkshire and the North East also came to the site over the weekend, but found there had been no impact upon the environment from fire water run off.

But, some people did report issues with discoloured water and a lack of water pressure coming from their taps in nearby homes, following the blaze. Yorkshire Water made people aware of this via their text messaging service.

AWM was approached for a comment.