A devastating fire raged through a warehouse in Lancashire, United Kingdom, requiring eight fire engines and an aerial platform to tackle the blaze, at its height. Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the fire, which took place on April 1, 2020, completely destroyed the warehouse, located at the Pincroft factory site.
The facility is used to store fabrics for Chorley-based manufacturer, Carrington Textiles, which manufactures much-needed fabrics for NHS and healthcare workwear.
Carrington Textiles’ Pincroft factory fire
Neil Davey, the Managing Director at Carrington Textiles, said “On the evening of Wednesday, April 1, we experienced a fire, which took place in the greige store, at our UK factory, Pincroft. Firstly and, most importantly, we are pleased to confirm that none of our colleagues were involved and everybody remained safe throughout. The fire was confined to the greige store, which is housed in a separate building, located at the rear of the factory.”
No one was injured in the blaze in Adlington, and while it is fortunate that the adjacent factory is now fully operational, the fabrics destroyed in the fire was in high demand, by both the NHS and healthcare workers.
Replacement fabric stock ordered
Carrington Textiles has had to order replacement stock to be flown into the United Kingdom
Carrington Textiles has had to order replacement stock to be flown into the United Kingdom, ensuring they have sufficient raw materials to meet current demand. But the wider factors are the costs to business profitability and productivity, at a time when businesses globally are under increasing pressure.
Commenting on the fire, Iain Cox, the Chair of the Business Sprinkler Alliance (BSA), said “Fire doesn’t discriminate and although the news headlines are about coronavirus (COVID-19), fire is still a threat and happens on a regular basis. It is regrettable that, at a time, when the NHS is in desperate need of equipment, a fire has damaged stock. However, it illustrates that a fire can happen at any time, with an impact that can be much wider than anticipated.”
Fabrics for NHS and healthcare workwear destroyed
Iain Cox adds, “While insurance will cover some costs, there are other costs that cannot be recuperated and unfortunately, in this instance, it is the ability to make much-needed fabrics for NHS and healthcare workwear.”
The fire in Adlington happened a little over a year, after another blaze tore through a warehouse, in the same town. That fire, in February 2019, destroyed three different businesses, including a furniture storage facility, a paint shop, and a metal recycling facility.
Importance of sprinkler systems
In order to prevent these costs to business, solutions such as sprinkler installations must be utilized, to prevent fire in warehouses that hold high levels of expensive stock. Sprinkler systems minimize the wider impact of unmanageable fires, reducing costs to business and the economy as a whole.
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