Factory in Littleborough on fire

Date published: 24 March 2018

The Proofings factory on Hare Hill Road in Littleborough is ablaze. 

Six fire engines from Littleborough, Rochdale, Heywood, Oldham, Blackley and Hollins, and two hydraulic platforms from Bolton and Manchester Central, are currently tackling the blaze at the derelict factory.

Fire crews were called to the scene at 4:29pm and are continuing to put out the fire, which involves three floors of the factory.

Firefighters are using a number of jets in three sectors to fight the fire and tacking the blaze from height with two hydraulic platforms.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue said: If you live in the area, please ensure your windows and doors are closed whilst our crews extinguish the flames and avoid the area if possible."

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UPDATE 
7.55pm

Parts of the building have collapsed.

The smoke plume from the fire has reduced but nearby residents are still advised to keep their windows and doors closed and to avoid the area.

Group Manager Val Hussain said: “Crews are continuing to make good progress at this challenging incident thanks to their hard work, and we will be scaling back to four fire engines shortly.

“We are working hard with other agencies to ensure the building and surrounding areas are safe but we expect to be on the scene for a considerable amount of hours. 

"Until further notice I would ask people to continue to keep their doors and windows closed as a precaution."

UPDATE
10.00pm

10pm update (Saturday March 24, 2018):

Firefighters will continue to work through the night to extinguish the flames at a derelict mill in Hare Hill Road, Littleborough.

Residents that were evacuated earlier in the evening have now been let back into their homes but all local residents are advised to keep their windows and doors shut.

Officer in charge, Station Manager Andy Hardman said: “The smoke has reduced and thankfully the wind has calmed but we are still advising all residents to stay away from the area and to keep windows and doors shut.

“Thanks to the hard work from our crews, we have been able to reduce cordons which have allowed the evacuated residents back into their homes. We will continue to tackle the blaze throughout the night – and although the incident has scaled down, due to the size of the industrial building, we still have some work to do.

“We are targeting the fire from height from two sectors and also using handheld jets. I would like to thank all the crews that have worked hard to tackle the fire earlier today, and also to the night shift who now have the task of extinguishing the fire completely.”

Four pumps from Bury, Blackley Hollins and Heywood along with two hydraulic platforms from Manchester Central and Oldham will remain at the scene overnight.

Proofings factory on Hare Hill Road in Littleborough ablaze
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