Factory Fire, Netherton

Fifteen fire engines, five 4x4 brigade response vehicles and three support vehicles are currently in attendance at this incident, crewed by around 90 firefighters.

Half of the building of the building has been affected by fire. No casualties have been reported.

The fire, which is at a bakery processing plant, is surrounded but not yet out.

As well as working to extinguish the fire itself, our crews are using water to cool a number of flour silos and protect them from the fire.

Pear Tree Lane has been closed as our crews work to bring this job to a safe conclusion.

West Midlands Ambulance Service's Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) are in attendance, alongside colleagues from West Midlands Police, who are assisting with the road closure.

Twenty-one fire engines, five 4x4 brigade response vehicles, two hydraulic platforms and a high volume water pumping unit are at the scene.

Over 100 Firefighters are being supported by specialist technical rescue colleagues and a drone pilot.

The fire is being tackled in four different sectors, with nine main water jets currently in operation. Good progress is being made.

A multi-agency briefing involving police, ambulance, the local council and site representatives has taken place.

We are asking people to avoid the area as we work to bring this incident to a safe conclusion. If people living or working nearby are affected by smoke, they should keep windows and doors closed.

Hose lines delivering water to the incident grounds within the immediate area may cause some disruption to roads.

Thirty fire engines, three hydraulic platforms and a high volume water pumping unit are at the scene.

Over 100 Firefighters are being supported by specialist technical rescue colleagues and a drone pilot.

Crews continue to tackle the blaze to prevent the spread of fire. Good progress is being made.

A full multi-agency briefing involving police, ambulance, the local council and site representatives has taken place. We are also liaising with the national grid, the gas board and the environment agency.

We are asking people to avoid the area as we work to bring this incident to a safe conclusion. People living or working nearby should keep windows and doors closed.

Hose lines delivering water to the incident grounds within the immediate area may cause some disruption to roads.

Really good progress is being made to extinguish the fire at Crackley Way. Crews are tackling the blaze from all angles and stopping it from spreading. There is still smoke in the area but the plume has reduced in size and is travelling over industrial areas.

We are asking people to continue to avoid the area as we work to bring this incident to a safe conclusion. People living or working nearby should keep windows and doors closed and stay indoors where possible.

Pear Tree Lane remains closed and hose lines delivering water may still be causing some disruption to roads.

We are looking to reduce resources at the incident ground and scale back. West Midlands Ambulance and West Midlands Police are looking to do the same with HART remaining in attendance.

Firefighting crews will remain on site to ensure the fire is fully extinguished for at least the next 24 hours.

Our crews are still working on fully extinguishing the fire, with 7 fire engines, 2 hydraulic platforms and a high volume pumping unit on site.

Despite initial difficulties with reduced visibility and access to the fire from all angles, the blaze is now significantly reduced, under control and with no risk of spreading, thanks to the determination of our firefighters throughout the last 24 hours.

Hampered by the collapse of the building, it is likely that teams will continue to work on site for the next 3 or 4 days.

Pear Tree Lane remains closed while police and local authority are working together to ensure that this cordon is staffed and effective.

The cause of a major fire in Netherton, Dudley has been confirmed as accidental by investigators from West Midlands Fire Service.

Our drone operations continue at the scene, to monitor for any hotspots and re-ignition. We now have just one fire engine in attendance, and our crews are likely to be making precautionary revisits throughout the day.

Simon Barry, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, said: “This was a complex, challenging and potentially dangerous incident, to which our crews at the scene and several support teams responded admirably.

“Clearly, the impact on the business and its employees has been devastating. Our firefighters faced multiple risks as they battled to bring the fire under control and to prevent it spreading.

“They successfully contained the fire to footprint of the original building on fire and worked tirelessly to prevent a number of flour silos on the site being compromised. We were focused on preventing a ‘dust explosion’, which could have injured responders on site and affected nearby businesses.

“There was also ammonia on the site, but our work ensured that any risk from this was also successfully controlled.

“We also stopped the fire spreading to neighbouring businesses – one of which was only a metre away - and tons of paper and wood stored very nearby.

“When faced with such a large and developing fire, we continually assess and review the risks and our operational priorities. The safety of our crews and other responders is paramount.

“We also need to secure and maintain our water supplies for firefighting. In this case we needed to use our high-volume pumping unit to draw thousands of litres a minute from a nearby canal.

“We evacuated people from the nearby industrial estate, and had contingency plans in place in case we needed to move people out of nearby homes. Staff have since been allowed to re-enter nearby businesses.

“The hard work of crews and resources on the ground was complemented throughout by our team in fire control, who coordinated our initial response and ensured that we could resource this incident and any others that happened.

“A number of other specialist teams were also involved, and we worked closely throughout with several other agencies such as police and ambulance, the local council, the Canals and Rivers Trust and local health officers.”