70 firefighters battle warehouse inferno
More than 70 firefighters from stations across West Yorkshire battled what is thought to be one of the biggest fires ever seen in Huddersfield.
The fire broke out at Oxfam’s Wastesaver site at around 6pm on Saturday and firefighters took 8 hours to get the fire under control but the Beck Road building was destroyed.
The company takes in old clothing donated from across the UK and recycles it. More than 70 people work at the site and there are fears that many will now lose their jobs.
A thick, black cloud of smoke could be seen above the town for miles. Police were forced to close many of the roads in the area which caused chaos for residents and traffic. Locals were advised to stay in their homes with windows and doors closed.
Gareth Franks who is the store manager at a nearby shop said: “some of the staff were in our warehouse when there was an enormous bang. The whole building shook and the doors buckled as if something had hit them. Fire and police officers came over and asked us to evacuate, so we got the shoppers and staff out”.
The fire is thought to have been started by gas cylinders that are used in forklift trucks.