Express & Star

'We have to make this work!' Determined owner of city firm hit by fire vows to bounce back

A business has lost hundreds of thousands of pounds of stock in a fire, but has been able to continue trading as normal.

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There were forklifts and vans running around the site and plenty of people working in and around Global Metal Finishers in Blakenhall in Wolverhampton on Wednesday, working to get deliveries set up and move stock around the site.

It had seemed unlikely that the site in the Blakenhall Industrial Estate would be in working order as on Tuesday afternoon, the site was hit by a fire which left smoke billowing out of a unit, ceiling panels popping in the heat and six fire crews working to stop the blaze, which could be seen from miles away.

The fire was eventually extinguished during the night and confirmed as out by around 3.30am, with the West Midlands Fire Service confirming that no hot spots, smoke or smouldering were found, with further inspections due in the early morning.

Plumes of smoke seen across Wolverhampton's skyline

A spokesman for the fire service said that the damage to the factory unit covered an area of around 50m x 70m with approximately 40 per cent of the mezzanine floor and roof involved in the fire, which was deemed to have caused accidentally.

Global Metal Finishers owner Ranjit Dudrar said the fire had originally started in a vacant unit next to his company's base, inside of a lift shaft, and had subsequently spread to his unit.