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| Picture: Lothian Fire and Rescue |
A large printing and packaging plant has almost completely been destroyed in a fire, which broke out around midday yesterday and is still being tackled by firefighters.
At its height around 70 firefighters tackled the blaze at the 80m x 40m Amcor Flexibles plant in Livingston in Scotland. All 84 employees managed to evacuate the building, though one suffered burns to the arm.
The single storey, steel framed building contains large quantities of chemicals including printing inks, solvents and acetylene cylinders.
Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service told Info4fire that building became structurally unsafe fairly quickly, with the roof collapsing soon afterwards. The presence of flammable and toxic substances meant the fire had to be tackled from some distance.
Earlier a fire service spokesperson said: “Our main priority is cooling those cylinders and we are using three height appliances as water towers to facilitate this. Residents should stay indoors and keep windows and doors closed to reduce contact with the smoke from the fire.”
Neighbouring businesses on the Brucefield Industrial estate were evacuated and local train services were disrupted.
Commenting on the fire, Iain Cox, chairman of the Business Sprinkler Alliance and CFOA director for prevention and protection said:
“Fire sprinklers can begin suppression within moments, thereby extinguishing it or, at the very least, minimising the production of toxic fumes. Had the company involved installed sprinklers to cover its entire property, the building would not have become fully alight. This is a major incident for the fire incident officers involved, which they are still attending to.”
In a statement issued yesterday the company said: “Thanks to Amcor’s strong focus on safety, all co-workers were quickly evacuated according to emergency procedures and everyone has been accounted for.
“[The company’s] culture of customer and market focus and dedication to seamless operations means an action plan to meet customers’ needs through alternative resourcing is already fully active.
“Amcor thanks all involved, particularly the local emergency services, for their quick response.”
Fire crews are expected to remain on the site for some time to come.
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