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21 July 2023
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Baldock fire: Business premises lost in industrial estate fire, UK
Fire fighters tackled a fire at an industrial estate in the historic market town of Baldock in Hertfordshire in the UK that has left many businesses without premises. Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident after the fire rapidly developed with various business units at risk.
Crews were sent to Baldock Industrial Estate off London Road in the town at about 18h15 BST on Tuesday, 11 July 2023. The fire service sent 15 engines as smoke spread across the town.
Area commander Andy Esson said crews worked hard to "contain and extinguish" the fire.
He added that their response has been scaled down but crews remained at the scene. "Fire fighters are tackling hotspots and ensuring the flames are fully out," the service said. It said it was "likely to be at the site for a few days".
The service added that both a fire investigation team and the police were looking into the cause of the fire in a probe which is "likely to take some time".
The fire was close to the town's Tesco supermarket, which was evacuated. Residents were also asked to keep their windows closed due to the large amount of smoke and some lost power and water supplies.
The fire service has asked people to continue to avoid the area throughout Wednesday as surrounding roads remained closed.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, Andy Hall, the fire service's head of operational response, said, "We are asking anyone who lives nearby to keep their windows closed due to the large amount of smoke and that people continue to avoid the area while our crews deal with the incident.”
One photo posted on social media showed the fire burning inside a building with the Baldock Tyre Exhaust & Mot Centre signage.
Nearby resident Claire Walton said she and her family first saw posts about the fire on a Facebook group. "We rushed upstairs and thought we might see a bit of smoke, but there were flames everywhere and black smoke was billowing into the sky," she said. "It just seems to be getting worse and worse, we're hearing 'bang, bang, bangs' going off."
Several hours after the fire was first reported, Walton filmed the scene with thick black smoke continuing to fill the sky two roads away from her family's home.
Source: Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, BBC News
Crews were sent to Baldock Industrial Estate off London Road in the town at about 18h15 BST on Tuesday, 11 July 2023. The fire service sent 15 engines as smoke spread across the town.
Area commander Andy Esson said crews worked hard to "contain and extinguish" the fire.
He added that their response has been scaled down but crews remained at the scene. "Fire fighters are tackling hotspots and ensuring the flames are fully out," the service said. It said it was "likely to be at the site for a few days".
The service added that both a fire investigation team and the police were looking into the cause of the fire in a probe which is "likely to take some time".
The fire was close to the town's Tesco supermarket, which was evacuated. Residents were also asked to keep their windows closed due to the large amount of smoke and some lost power and water supplies.
The fire service has asked people to continue to avoid the area throughout Wednesday as surrounding roads remained closed.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, Andy Hall, the fire service's head of operational response, said, "We are asking anyone who lives nearby to keep their windows closed due to the large amount of smoke and that people continue to avoid the area while our crews deal with the incident.”
One photo posted on social media showed the fire burning inside a building with the Baldock Tyre Exhaust & Mot Centre signage.
Nearby resident Claire Walton said she and her family first saw posts about the fire on a Facebook group. "We rushed upstairs and thought we might see a bit of smoke, but there were flames everywhere and black smoke was billowing into the sky," she said. "It just seems to be getting worse and worse, we're hearing 'bang, bang, bangs' going off."
Several hours after the fire was first reported, Walton filmed the scene with thick black smoke continuing to fill the sky two roads away from her family's home.
Source: Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, BBC News
