[O]ver 60 firefighters from Cumbria County Council Fire and Rescue Service attended a major blaze at premises on a Maryport industrial estate yesterday.
The fire service received a call at 1330hrs on Tuesday to attend a fire at the Glasson Industrial Estate. On arrival the crews were faced with a severe fire that had already engulfed most of the building. Additional resources were quickly requested and at the height of the incident a total of 12 Fire Engines, 2 Aerial Ladder Platforms and a number of specialist units attended.
A specialist fire engine from the Sellafield Fire and Rescue Service also attended under our mutual support arrangements, but has since returned.
Fire crews remained on site throughout the night and extinguished the majority of the fire by Wednesday morning. The incident has now been scaled down although three Fire Engines, an Aerial Ladder Platform and some specialist units remain on site. Firefighters are now dealing with the remaining hotspots and are expected to remain on site for the rest of today.
The premises of two local businesses were severely damaged in the fire.
During the incident, nearby residents were advised to keep their doors and windows closed and to stay out of the smoke plume from the fire. This advice remains in place for the next 24 hours. Close working between emergency services and multi-agency colleagues has ensured a co-ordinated and effective response.
Chief Fire Officer Paul Hancock said: “This was a very severe and extremely challenging fire for our fire crews to deal with, it is certainly one of largest that we have dealt with in West Cumbria for a number of years. The incident required a significant and sustained response from our fire fighters, and support of colleagues from Sellafield and other agencies.
“Thankfully no one has been hurt in the blaze and we will now begin the fire investigation work to determine the cause of the fire. Although understandably devastating for the local businesses affected, it does however demonstrate the skill and effectiveness of our Fire crews and the importance of a joined up multi-agency approach when dealing with incidents of this scale.”
A number of roads in and out of Maryport were closed for public safety reasons during the incident but all roads affected have now reopened, with the exception of Hutton Place between the A596 Main Road and Ellenborough Place which will remain closed until further notice.
Cumbria County Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centre in Maryport is closed today as a result of the fire and residents are advised to use Clayflatts HWRC until the Maryport site reopens.
