A warehouse that was gutted after a huge fire could have been saved if a sprinkler system had been in place, the local fire service has said.
Around 100 firefighters battled the blaze at a warehouse owned by Catalent Solutions, on Oakley Hay Industrial Estate in Corby, Northamptonshire. The fire, which started just before 9am on 24 March, took crews around eight hours to get under control. Firefighters managed to contain the fire to the single-storey building.
However, the incident could have been downscaled to a ‘minor inconvenience’ had sprinklers been in place, Baz Fox, group manager of Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue, said.
Mr Fox, who is also a member of the National Fire Sprinkler Network, said: “Had there been sprinklers installed, it is unlikely that the building would have become fully alight, requiring over sixty fire fighters from the county and neighbouring brigades to extinguish.
“Sprinklers would have helped limit the incident to being a ‘minor inconvenience’ and could have helped ensure that business continuity at the premises was not compromised.”
Residents from the surrounding area were advised to stay indoors and keep windows and doors shut as large volumes of smoke poured out.
The fire in the building, a single-storey warehouse measuring 100m by 100m, is now subject to an investigation. While not operating to full capacity, parts of the warehouse are now being used by the company to store material.
