Fire crews battle Exeter factory blaze

Fire Control received two calls from on-site staff at a factory on Kestrel Way, Exeter, reporting that alarms had activated and there was a fire in the casting plant within the foundry section of the factory.

The blaze started at around 1.26am today (SATURDAY) at Arconic on Sowton Industrial Estate.

Below is the Fire Control report from the incident:

Due to the potential serious nature of this incident and knowledge of the type of building involved, Fire Control made the decision to redirect fire appliances from other lower priority incidents in the area to ensure Fire Service resources were in attendance as soon as possible.

4 fire appliances from Danes Castle, Middlemoor and Topsham stations, together with an aerial ladder platform from Danes Castle, were mobilised along with a supervisory officer.

Within minutes of arriving and investigating, Fire Control received an assistance message from crews on scene requesting a further 4 fire appliances and additional support vehicles, these were mobilised from Ottery St Mary, Cullompton, Honiton, Exmouth and Sidmouth, along with several specialist officers.

Other stations from the surrounding area were mobilised to standby at the affected stations to ensure fire cover was maintained.

At 02:28hrs crews reported that the fire in the foundry was also involving part of the roof of the factory, which measures 150m x 150m. The incident had already been sectorised at this point, with crews using 4 breathing apparatus sets, 2 main jets, 2 hose reel jets, assisted by the aerial ladder platform.

Crews worked swiftly, and with early implementation of safety measures the fire spread was minimised. At 02:44hrs the incident commander reported that the fire was believed to be out, and at 02:50hrs it was confirmed that the fire had been extinguished.

Update 03:55hrs - This incident is now complete and whilst we still have crews on scene, it has been confirmed that the fire has been extinguished and we will shortly be leaving the scene. In total 8 breathing apparatus, 2 main jets, 1 hose reel jet, thermal imaging cameras and an aerial ladder platform were used to extinguish the fire, which started accidentally. Approximately 10m x 20m of the furnace area was damaged by fire and 40m x 40m damaged by smoke. There were no casualties and duty of care will shortly be left with on-site personnel.