Firefighters battle blaze at large industrial unit in Hyde

ABOUT 50 firefighters from 10 stations across Greater Manchester were called into action to battle a blaze at Adamson Industrial Estate on Croft Street in Hyde.

Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service (GMFRS) were called to reports of a fire at 8.29pm on Saturday, April 4.

The blaze affected a large 100m by 50m brick building containing multiple business units and spread to cover three large buildings over a 300m x 200m footprint at its height.

Firefighters from stations including Ashton, Gorton, Hyde, Stalybridge and Stockport fought the flames.

Incident commanders divided the scene into four sectors to enable firefighters to make swift progress – hose reels, lances and three aerial platforms are enabling the fire to be fought both from ground level and from above.

Residents as far away as Mossley reported the smell of smoke and thick plumes were seen from across the borough.

A 200m exclusion zone was placed around the industrial estate and nearby roads were temporarily closed while Network Rail halted trains services passing through Hyde Central railway station.

Crews worked over night and through the next day to extinguish the blaze before finally leaving the site on the evening of Sunday, April 5.

Station Manager Chris Hanson, in charge at the scene, said: “I cannot praise our firefighters enough – operating in the middle of the night in dangerous conditions they systematically worked to extinguish the fire.

“This has not been an easy fire to tackle. Spread over quite a large area and involving brick buildings three storeys high in places, of great concern was the large amount of chemicals stored at the scene given the industrial nature of some of the business involved.

“The cause of the fire remains unknown and an investigation will begin soon.”

Station Manager Bob Birtles, in charge on the ground, added: “Crews have worked tremendously hard, operating in shifts.

“Demolition of a significant part of the site is about to commence – a specialist demolition crew is on the scene and will use heavy machinery.

“However, I am pleased to say the swift actions of our firefighters succeeded in saving parts of some of the affected building, and firefighters have also successfully retrieved a large amount of stock from some of the premises affected.”

All neighbouring streets have reopened. GMFRS would like to thank colleagues from other emergency services, the local council and business owners for their assistance throughout this incident.

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