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SOME 140 staff evacuated safely after a fire broke out in a single-storey warehouse containing clothing stock of UK retailer, Primark, on 1 November 2005.
The incident happened at the company’s national distribution centre, at Magna Park near Lutterworth, Leicestershire. The 300m2 steel-framed building was owned and run by logistics firm TNT.
Crews from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the site at 7pm. They found a severe fire moving quickly through the building, with high winds and the open loading bay doors helping to spread the flames.
At the height of the blaze, 15 fire engines and 80 firefighters from Leicestershire and Warwickshire worked to contain the fire and stop it spreading to neighbouring sites. The warehouse roof collapsed at an early stage and the entire stock was destroyed, causing estimated damage of £100m.
The brigades praised TNT’s evacuation procedures. The company has since switched its operation to another warehouse on the same industrial estate. The cause of the fire is now being investigated by police and fire teams. A sprinkler system installed in the building is reported to have been iso-lated before the blaze, due to a burst water main.
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