A major fire at the Ladybank Waste Facility in Fife was still sending smoke into the air on 14 May, three days after the blaze broke out and forced emergency crews to stay on site. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it was first called to the waste site at about 1.35pm on Tuesday 12 May, and firefighters remained in attendance as crews worked to bring the incident under control.

Fife Council said the waste transfer and processing facility had sustained significant damage and remained closed while the response continued. It was not yet known when waste processing operations would resume. The Household Waste Recycling Centre across the road was not damaged, but it also stayed shut because road access had been restricted by smoke and emergency service activity.

The fire hit a facility near Lower Melville Wood that handles waste transfer and processing, putting a key part of local waste operations out of action. Even so, council services were still being kept moving: bin collections were continuing as planned, and residents were told to keep presenting bins and bulky uplift items as normal.

The cause of the fire had not yet been confirmed, and a review was set to take place once the emergency response had ended and it was safe to access the affected areas. A spokesperson said the situation was improving, but the incident was not fully concluded, and fire crews were still onsite on 14 May as they worked to fully extinguish the blaze.

For now, the answer to the biggest question is straightforward: the fire has not been fully put out, the damage is significant, and the disruption to the Ladybank site is expected to continue until crews finish and investigators can get inside.