Teams of people and agencies are working on bringing the fire at Weedon under control.
The blaze which stared in the early hours of Wednesday morning at Quality Nut Products Ltd on the Cavalry Hill Indsutrial Estate continues to burn under controlled conditions.
People living nearby have been advised to keep their windows and doors closed.
Working alongside fire and rescue crews, the ongoing situation is being closely monitored by public protection agencies including Public Health England, Daventry District Council’s Environmental Health Team, Northamptonshire County Council’s Emergency Planning Team and the Environment Agency.
The main issue on site is the need to manage the fact that when water is applied to the fire, it has to be contained and recycled to minimise contamination to the local waterways and the River Nene. A local fishing pond has already been affected and specialist contractors will be on site today to remove some of the contaminated water from that pond.
Dawn Whittaker, Deputy Chief Fire Officer at Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “It is a fine balance between controlling and extinguishing the fire and protecting the waterways and the environment. We fully understand that local businesses and residents want it to end as soon as possible and I would like to assure them that we are reviewing the situation on a continual basis.”
It is likely that smoke from this fire will last over the next week and although the health risk to local people is small, as all smoke is an irritant it can make people’s eyes and throats sore.
The general advice is always, that people should try to remain out of the smoke as much as possible. If symptoms occur, people should seek medical advice or call NHS 111.