Factory Fire In St Neots

16 June 2014, 08:06 | Updated: 16 June 2014, 10:23

A fire has broken out at a derelict factory in St Neots.

At 4.29am crews were called to a fire in a disused factory unit in Cromwell Road, St Neots.

The first crews to arrive found a rapidly developing fire and immediately asked for more fire engines.

One crew from St Neots, one crew from Gamlingay, one crew from Huntingdon, one crew from Kimbolton, one crew from Papworth, one crew from Bedford, one crew from Cambridge and a support crew from Huntingdon attended.

The fire was affecting half the ground floor of a two-storey factory which measured approximately 20m by 30m. The entire building was smoke logged.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used five jets, two hose reels, two hydrants to put the fire out by 7.12am.
The incident was scaled down and three crews remained at the scene dampening down and checking for hotspots with a thermal imaging camera.

Incident commander Paul Clarke said: "The first crews did well to recognise the scale of the fire and having the extra crews there so quickly meant that we could surround the fire and bring it under control quickly.
"A full fire investigation will take place this morning but early indications are that it was started deliberately."

The building is believed to be structurally unsound now as a result of fire damage.

Police closed Cromwell Road while the incident was ongoing.

At 9am, one crew from St Neots remains at the incident.