Huge blaze destroys Warndon warehouse

2:17pm Wednesday 2nd April 2008

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A HUGE blaze in Worcester is set to destroy a warehouse.

Thick black smoke is billowing over the Warndon area of the city as about 100 firefighters tackle the blaze at B Smith Packaging, in Stanier Road, off Cotswold Way.

We saw the smoke and then... whoosh - it went up.

Eyewitness Brendon Thompstone

Visibly shaken employee Vicky Smith said "We don't what happened. The warehouse started to smoke, someone hit the fire alarm and we all had to get out.

"Two seconds later the whole thing went up."

Nearby businesses, including a the Barn Owl pub and Leapfrog Day Nursery, have been evacuated as a precaution.

Fire crews from Worcester, Droitwich, Malvern, Evesham and Pershore are still at the fire, which started just after 10am today.

A spokesman for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service was at the scene and said nobody was injured.

"We're going to let it collapse in on itself," he said.

"The roof has gone and there are cracks on the front and rear walls which are in immediate danger of collapsing."

He added that crews expect to be at the scene overnight.

One eyewitness, 24-year-old student Steve Marshall, saw the smoke from his home in Chedworth Drive, Warndon.

"I got a call from my mum who told me to look out the window," he said.

"It's quite dramatic."

Others working nearby described how the fire took hold within a matter of minutes.

Graham Cook, who runs Cookies Mobile Catering in Brindley Road, directly opposite the factory, watched the firefighters and police arrive, and people from the neighbouring Shire Business Park being evacuated.

Brendon Thompstone, who works for Augean, a waste treatment plant in Stanier Road, said: "We heard a car alarm sound, which obviously turned out to be their fire alarm, and came out to have a look.

"We saw the smoke and then... whoosh - it went up.

"Everyone started running around like headless chickens."

The plant, which deals with hazardous and chemical waste, has now been protected from the ongoing fire, as have nearby homes.

A spokesman for West Mercia police confirmed that numerous commercial properties had been evacuated as a precaution.

It is believed the manager of B Smith Packaging is away on holiday.

The firm was established in the 1960s and supplies paper, boxes, bags, ribbons and labels.

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