Firefighters had to demolish a north-east warehouse yesterday to tackle a huge blaze inside.
Four crews were called to the fire at GR Fasteners, on the Blackhill Industrial Estate at Findon, at about 1.30pm.
But with strong winds blowing the flames through the building, causing it partially collapse, the crews decided to blitz the building with a forklift to ensure they extinguished the fire properly.
Firefighters evacuated the immediate area around the building, fearing some of its contents – including cylinders – may prove dangerous.
Speaking at the scene, station manager Darren Riddell said his teams were faced with both “limited water supply and access” on arrival, and the relentless wind causing “rapid fire spread”.
He added: “When crews initially turned up they were faced with a well-developed fire in an industrial premises. The first initial thing there was suspected cylinders being involved. We carried out an immediate evacuation of the area.
“Quickly the structure became unsafe and collapsed. The roof went first of all.
“I made the decision to bring in the Manitou forklift and then we pulled the rest of the building down so we could bring it down in a controlled manner.
“The weather really wasn’t on our side. The wind causes rapid fire spread.
“The only benefit we had was it was moving smoke away from the premises.
“We got it under control in about 40-50 minutes after the building started to go. When we pulled the rest of the building down, it allowed us to bring it under control.”
Nobody was injured in the drama, which neighbours said unfolded quickly.
Graham Knight said: “It just happened very suddenly, it was very fast. It grew incredibly quickly, but the fire brigade was here very fast.”
Kara Griffiths added: “There was a structure over there about an hour ago, but that has been completely burnt to the ground.
“You don’t get this type of thing in Findon.”
An investigation into the cause of the blaze, which was fully extinguished by 3.25pm, is now underway. The warehouse contained “nuts and bolts”, firefighters said.
A spokesperson from GR Fasteners was not available for comment.