Thirty firefighters tackle Wednesfield factory blaze
Thirty firefighters battled for almost two hours to stop a factory being destroyed in a blaze today.
A hydraulic platform was used to fight flames ripping through the roof of the works of heated towel rail manufacturer Vogue UK on the Strawberry Lane industrial estate in Wednesfield.
The fire started in the testing, welding and packing unit section of the plant that is split into three adjoining units. But fire crews prevented it spreading to the other two buildings and saved the business that has been operating there for 20 years.
The blaze was spotted at 12.20am and crews were still at the scene damping down and carrying out investigations to establish what sparked the fire seven hours later.
Tony Skitt, manufacturing manager of the Vogue works that employs 35 people, said: "The fire service did well. There is a lot of water around, but, they stopped it spreading.
"We have lost all of our computers and communications along with part of our manufacturing process.
"But because the rest of the plant was saved we should be able to continue manufacturing elsewhere within the remaining units.
"We are hopeful that we can regroup and carry on work. It will take a couple of days but we should be able to keep all the staff employed."
Watch Commander Simon Hardiman , from Fallings Park Fire Station, that led the operation, said afterwards: "Flames broke through the roof as we arrived. It was an awkward job. We had to use cutting equipment to force entry through the locked steel shutters.
"We also had to force entry into the adjoining unit and managed to put a fire-break in place that stopped the flames spreading otherwise they could have gone through all the units."
