Fire destroys five buildings at Lancashire business park
A fire at the Lancashire Enterprise Business Park in Leyland has destroyed five buildings, resulted in the closure of local roads and disrupted rail travel. Twenty homes were also evacuated due to drifting smoke that was feared to be toxic.
More than one hundred firefighters were drafted in to tackle the blaze, which was brought under control although it was expected to take several days to extinguish completely.
One of the affected buildings was being used to store toilet paper, which the fire service has described as ‘ready-made fuel for fire’. Large volumes of air space would also have facilitated the rapid spread of the fire throughout the building.
The damage and disruption are sure to have an impact on the business park and demonstrate how destructive fire is and how difficult it is to get a blaze under control.
Fire safety awareness is essential to all places of work, and fire safety training covers not only how to conduct fire risk assessments but also fire control measures. A failure to comply with fire safety regulations could so easily result in damage to lives as well as properties.