It took six firefighters three hours to ensure that a fire that erupted at the Tynes Bay incinerator was completely extinguished yesterday.

The fire was minor when compared with the Christmas Day blaze, however. At 4.05 a.m. the Fire Service was called to the plant as refuse in the tipping area of the building had caught fire.

Fire Service spokesman Lt. Dana Lovell said that trash in the area had ignited spontaneously. ?We arrived and found smouldering trash,? he said. ?As trash rots it forms heat and if conditions are right ? sufficient oxygen and material ? then it will ignite. This is what happened.?

He said two fire trucks and six firefighters were on the scene within eight minutes of getting the call. They doused the area and remained at the scene as plant workers moved sections of the trash pile onto a conveyor belt into the incinerator.

There was no damage associated with yesterday?s incident. The Christmas Day blaze is still under investigation.