West Midlands Fire Service investigators have revealed they believe they know what started yesterday’s huge blaze in Erdington. The factory which caught fire on the industrial estate behind Birmingham’s Fort shopping centre was demolished today.
.A dozen fire engines, 4×4 response vehicles and a hydraulic lifting platform were dispatched to the scene of the massive blaze at Hastingwood Industrial Park on Wood Lane, Erdington, at around 3.20pm on Wednesday, July 17. The fire at the industrial building was located at the rear of The Fort shopping centre, which was evacuated when the scale of the blaze became apparent on Wednesday afternoon.
Motorists were urged to avoid the area and bus diversions were put in place as crews battled the blaze and plumes of smoke were visible for miles around the city. West Midlands Fire Service issued a major update early on Thursday evening concluding that the cause of the fire was accidental.
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A WMFS spokesperson said: “Our investigators believe the fire started accidentally and was electrical in nature.”
Troy Yeomans, manager of The Fort shopping centre, released a statement Thursday evening to confirm that the building affected by the fire was demolished today. The shopping centre reopened to the public Thursday morning.
Mr Yeomans said: “As most people will be aware, yesterday afternoon following a major fire in a business park to the rear of Fort Shopping Park, the park was evacuated as a precaution at 3.30pm. It quickly became apparent that this was a major incident, with 12 fire engines on scene to bring the blaze under control.
“The police and fire service then decided that the park should remain closed for safety reasons for the remainder of the day. Although there was a small risk from the fire itself, the smoke and debris posed a major risk, particularly in and around our service areas and staff car park. Given the scale of the fire, it is a great relief that no injuries were reported.
“We are all incredibly grateful to the firefighters and police for their help and hard work. I am sure they will be equally grateful to the Greggs and Costa teams who stayed on site to provide food and drink when the situation calmed down!”
“The evacuation went extremely well and I would like to thank all the shops, staff and customers at the Fort for ensuring that everything went smoothly and in a safe and orderly manner. I would also like to thank my colleagues at the park, my team, for making a very difficult and at times chaotic situation both manageable and controlled.
“I would like to apologise and thank all our customers for their patience and understanding. I can confirm that the park is fully open with no restrictions or impact as a result of the incident. The building will be demolished today as the fire service makes the entire site safe, but this will have no impact on the park.”
