IN VIDEO and PICTURES: Firefighters battle derelict factory blaze

Despite the fire being largely out, firefighters are still on the scene at Stafford Street in large numbers as they look to establish a cause.

A total of 12 crews from West Midlands Fire Service attended the fire which was believed to have started at around 7.40am this morning.

Although there is still smoke in the area, WMFS have confirmed that the fire is largely out and soon a thorough search of the building will be carried out.

Steve Lees, a spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service, said: "The fire is under control, not completely extinguished. Due to the derelict nature of the building and the dangerous conditions within, we're taking a cautious approach but we will be doing a thorough search to make sure nobody is inside because yes it is derelict but we can't confirm that there's nobody in there so we will be doing a cautious but thorough search over the next hour or so.

"Most of the roof has gone from the building but there is still part of the roof intact where there will be fire so we will have to expose and strip away and that will take some time so we're likely to be here until late afternoon.

"We brought safe systems of working place so our crews are ok, no local residents have complained of any issues but we have been liaising with the local ambulance service who are in attendance and the police to make sure the area is kept clear and if there is any issues the ambulance can deal with that."

WMFS got the call to the derelict building at 7.44am this morning. Although there is still smoke in the area which can be seen from miles away, Mr Lees said that it is much better and the scene earlier in the morning was 'spectacular'.

He added: "It was quite spectacular early on, there was a lot of smoke which meant visibility was reduced for a large area of Willenhall. It's not one of the worst fires I've attended I've got to admit but it did look quite spectacular.

"The smoke compared to earlier on this morning has improved immensely. You will find in the next couple of hours that there will be very small amounts of smoke coming off, it will be mainly steam. So all the white smoke you can see coming off is steam.

"The smoke in the air isn't an issue, it will pass. The damp weather conditions aren't helping because they're keeping the smoke cloud quite low."

Despite being on scene for over four hours now, WMFS have not been able to establish a cause as the fire investigations officer has not been through the building with it not being deemed safe yet.

Mr Lees said: "We've got our fire investigation officer here. But of course he won't be able to enter the building until it's safe to do so.

"We have had some firefighters working internally, but not many, most of it has been external firefighting. But at times, we've had to commit crews inside with breathing apparatus to help us extinguish the fire."

Two crews responded to the fire within four minutes, but soon realised the extent of the blaze and more crews were called in. There were 12 crews on hand at its height.