BCB Environmental Management has defended its safety record as the fire that destroyed its waste facility near Tockwith dies down.

A spokesman for the business said: “There is no question about the safety record of BCB Environmental Management, otherwise it wouldn’t have a licence. The Environment Agency doesn’t take risks and doesn’t allow operators to take risks.”

He said that the £40,000 fine BCB incurred earlier this year after it admitted three health and safety offences involving its handling of flammable chemicals and its equipment, was down to human error and not because there were systemic faults in the business.

“Errors do happen. That was a human error, not a procedural error and the consequence of that was a fire,” he said.

The company, whose chief executive Phil Boardman is rushing back to Tockwith from a narrow boating holiday elsewhere in the UK, said it doesn’t know what started the blaze.

The spokesman said: “We can’t comment on the fire because we have yet to investigate what the causes are and as soon as possible BCB Environmental Management will be working with the Fire and Rescue services and the Environment Agency to investigate the cause.”

He confirmed that the materials handled in the waste transfer plant were classed as hazardous. He said the detail of what exactly is in the building varies from day to day, but generally the waste transfer facility handles paints and inks. He said the classification of hazardous is a broad one and no substances which required protective clothing were held in the plant.