Firefighters are currently in attendance at a large fire at a warehouse In Kirkdale

Firefighters are currently in attendance at a large fire at a warehouse on Foster Street, Kirkdale. Smoke bellowing across the Bootle area.

Crews were alerted at 3.53am and on scene at 3.57am. There are currently 10 fire engines in attendance as well as two aerial appliances and the high volume pump.

On arrival crews found a large quantity of waste material on fire inside a structure approximately 100m x 40m.

The fire has been sectorised.

Residents and businesses nearby should keep windows and doors closed. Anyone with existing medical conditions should keep medicines nearby and should call NHS 111 if ill effects occur.

The incident is ongoing.

UPDATE 7.24am

A multi agency meeting has taken place between MFRS, Merseyside Police, Liverpool City Council, Network Rail, United Utilities and the site owners.

Firefighting continues on site, with the affected material believed to be non hazardous mixed household waste.

10 fire engines remain in attendance as well as one combined platform ladder, a high volume pump, incident command unit and welfare unit.

The fire has been sectorised. Sector one has the combined platform ladder and two ground monitors in use.

Sector two has the high volume pump extracting water from the nearby canal to aid in firefighting operations.

Sector three has two ground monitors in use and sector four has two ground monitors and four hand controlled branch hoses in use.

The smoke plume from the fire is currently blowing from west north west to east south west.

Residents and businesses are advised to follow previous advice to keep windows and doors closed.

There have been no injuries.

Road closures have been put on place on Sandhills Lane, Juniper Street, Studholme Street and Bankhall Street.

The incident is ongoing.

UPDATE 9.22AM

A further two multi agency meetings have taken place on site with involved parties.

Good progress is being made in fighting the fire. The smoke plume has reduced significantly but residents and businesses in the area are advised to continue to follow previous advice and keep windows and doors closed.

Road closures remain in place.

Update 10.56am:

Firefighting continues on scene. Eight fire engines remain in attendance as well as the aerial appliance and high volume pump.

Area Manager Paul Murphy, Incident Commander on scene, said: "When crews arrived in the early hours of this morning they were faced with a large fire in two commercial units involving a large quantity of waste.

"Firefighters have worked tirelessly and have done a fantastic job ensuring the fire was brought under control safely and efficiently.

"We have worked alongside multi agency partners including the police, city council, United Utilities, Network Rail and site owners to ensure a minimum impact on the environment as well as ensuring business continuity for the surrounding premises.

"The smoke plume has significantly reduced as a result of our firefigting efforts but we would still ask residents in the nearby area to keep their windows and doors closed at this time."

UPDATE 12.15PM

Significant firefighting continues on site. A second combined platform ladder is being used to attack the fire from above.

A large volume of smoke still remains as a result of firefighting actions. Residents and businesses in the vicinity should remain indoors and follow previous advice to keep windows and doors closed.

Smoke is affecting the visibility in the Commercial Road and Stanley Road area. Motorists are advised to find alternative routes where possible. The tow path along the canal is also affected by smoke. Cyclists and pedestrians are advised to avoid the area also.

UPDATE 2.11PM

Firefighting continues on site. Nine fire engines are on scene as well as two aerial appliances and the high volume pump.

Crews continue to pump water from the nearby canal to aid in firefighting operations. As a result of firefighting, smoke still continues to blow from the site. Residents and businesses should continue to keep their windows and doors closed.

Further multi agency meetings have taken place throughout the day between MFRS, Merseyside Police, Liverpool City Council, United Utilities, the Environment Agency and site owners.

Crews continue to liaise with Public Health England and the Environment Agency throughout the incident.

The incident is ongoing.

UPDATE 2.38pm

Light portable pumps are being brought to site and MFRS continues to work with United Utilities and the Environment Agency to ensure firefighting water is taken away from the site safely.

The tactical plan is to use plant machinery from the site to remove the affected material from the buildings. This will then be raked out and damped down to ensure there are no hot spots or risk of reignition.

Firefighters are expected to remain on site throughout the night.

UPDATE 7.16PM

Firefighting continues on scene, with affected waste being removed from the buildings by plant machinery.

The two combined platform ladders are being used as water towers. Nine fire engines remain on scene as well as the high volume pump.

Operations will continue throughout the night.