Small fire at Cooper Avon, Melksham – “no loss of production”

Wiltshire news sources have reported a fire at Cooper Avon’s Melksham facility over the weekend; while crews worked in “difficult conditions” to put the fire out according to the Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service, Cooper Avon stated that the “damage was minimal and because there are no weekend shifts at present, there were no injuries to staff.” Operations at the plant were not affected, according to the company.

Although the exact cause of a fire that broke out at the tyre factory on the morning of 14 May is still under investigation, Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service is satisfied there are no suspicious circumstances involved. Four fire service appliances were dispatched to the factory, and Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service says “fire crews wearing breathing apparatus faced difficult conditions in locating the fire, with hoses having to be pulled 30 metres inside the building.”

The blaze was located in the factory’s tyre curing building and the presence of steam and high voltage electricity necessitated the use of thermal image cameras as a safety consideration when locating, tackling and extinguishing the fire. Close liaison with on-site engineers enabled fire crews to isolate the fire sprinkler system, which had successfully held the fire in check. After the fire was extinguished crews remained at the scene for some hours stripping out ceiling cladding and checking extract fans to rule out the possibility of it reigniting.

 “What little damage was caused was cleared by the end of the weekend and production resumed as normal yesterday morning, so no loss of production,” concluded the manufacturer’s statement.