Oil Blaze Mostly Out; Fire Brigade Criticized

Firefighters put out all major blazes at a fuel depot north of London and began mopping up after a three-day inferno.

Congratulations poured in for the fire crews from 16 different brigades who tackled the blaze, but questions emerged about the local brigade’s preparedness.

“Hertfordshire fire authority was woefully ill-prepared to deal with anything but the most minor oil fire,� the Fire Brigades Union said, stating that it had no specialist foam-spraying vehicles, stocks of foam or officers trained to tackle a major oil fire.

Local fire chief Roy Wilshire called the claim “nonsense.�