22 Aug 2011
Dozens of homes in Blackburn were evacuated after a large fire broke out at an engineering works at the weekend.
Approximately 60 firefighters were called out to tackle the blaze at Riverside Precision Engineering in Lower Darwen.
Nearby residents were evacuated and forced to stay in a local hotel as thick black smoke billowed out of the mill.
It had been feared that the building contained gas cylinders, but it later emerged that this was not the case.
Mill owner Michael Ditchfield said he had to wait for his insurance company’s damage assessment before determining the future of his business, which employees 14 people.
He said: “The fire was in the main workshop and I don’t know how much we can salvaged. Now I’m just left waiting to see what the insurers are going to say.”
Copyright Press Association 2011