Factory Fire, Radcliffe, August 2012

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 23 Aug 2012

Shortly before 10pm on Thursday, 23rd August 2012, a large fire broke out in the former General Engineering factory and adjoining warehouse on Bury Road. More than 60 firefighters attended the incident and spent the night tackling the blaze, along with ten fire engines, two aerial appliances and a number of specialist vehicles. Efforts to extinguish the blaze were hampered when a large gas pipe ruptured which led to a small explosion creating a gas flare and causing the collapse of part of the industrial complex. The heat from the fire at a site on Bury Road was so intense it cracked the windows of the flats opposite, forcing the emergency services to evacuate local residents from About 100 homes in the Bury Road and Schofield Street areas to Radcliffe Civic Suite in Thomas Street. Firefighters eventually managed to gain control of the blaze after the gas supply to the fractured pipe was isolated in the early hours of the morning and were then able to begin damping down the site. It is believed the building was empty but an investigation is underway. This is taken from the nearby canal. For more images, see http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=35454929 Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homes-evacuated-amid-factory-blaze-in-radcliffe-8078444.html (The Independent) http://www.metro.co.uk/news/909670-radcliffe-factory-fire-causes-100-homes-to-be-evacuated#ixzz24Ul8gRvN (Metro News) http://www.itv.com/news/granada/update/2012-08-24/radcliffe-factory-fire-explosion/ (ITV News) http://www.towerfm.co.uk/news/local/investigation-after-massive-factory-fire-in-radcliffe/ (Tower FM) http://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/9891409.Huge_factory_fire_in_Radcliffe/?action=complain&cid=10686350 (Bury Times) http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1587091_major-evacuation-after-gas-explosion-in-radcliffe---video-and-pictures (Manchester Evening News)

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