Firefighters battled to keep control of a massive warehouse blaze after 280 tonnes of gas canisters exploded on a North-East industrial park. Chris Fay reports.

INCREDIBLY, no one was hurt as explosions ripped through Stiller Warehousing and Distribution at 1pm on Friday, where 7,500 pallets of aerosol cans in a warehouse caught fire.

Firefighters remain at the site, on the Aycliffe Business Park, in County Durham, damping down.

Forty-five firefighters were called to tackle the blaze, the cause of which is unknown.

Fire chiefs said it was only the wind fanning the flames away from the huge Ineos chemical plant, formerly known as Hydro Polymers, that prevented a mass evacuation of the town.

Steve Whorton, the station manager for Durham Fire Brigade, praised Stiller Warehousing, which employs about 180 people at the site, and nearby businesses for the way they responded.

Mr Whorton said: “We could have been looking at multiple casualties. The fire plans worked and they saved lives. The first priority was to stop the fire spreading. We have got some quite dangerous premises nearby, including the former Hydro Polymers site.

“The last thing we want is for the fire to spread there.

“Ineos was a major consideration, but the thing that went in our favour was the wind direction.

“If it had been blowing towards the plant, that does not mean to say that it would have gone up, but we would have been looking at evacuating parts of Newton Aycliffe as a precaution.”

Mr Wharton said the Ineos plant shut down its operations as a precaution, and offered its water reservoirs to fire crews to fight the blaze At its peak, flames 200ft high and thick black plumes of smoke could be seen as far away as Middlesbrough and Durham. Hundreds of people ignored warnings to stay indoors and gathered at all corners of the cordoned-off industrial estate to watch.

Andrew Bowman was nearby when the warehouse, thought to be full of hair and beauty products, went up.

He said: “I was less than quarter of a mile away from it, but could feel the heat from the fire and could feel the explosions in the ground where I was standing. There were huge plumes of acrid black smoke and the flames were higher than the trees.

“Some of the roads became bottle-necked with people trying to drive away from the area because they were so worried.”

People were evacuated from factories and children were kept in school as tens of thousands of cans popped and exploded. By about 6pm, the fire was being contained but fire chiefs say it is unlikely to be extinguished until mid-afternoon today at the earliest.

Cordons will remain in place all weekend.

The Health Protection Agency said some of the substances present in the smoke can irritate the lining of the air passages, the skin and the eyes.

The fire brigade, police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating the cause of the blaze, which is not thought to be suspicious.

A police spokesman said: “The large plume of smoke caused by the fire is gradually dissipating and people who were originally advised to remain in their homes can now return to normal, but are advised to stay clear of any smoke.

“This advice also applies to motorists who travel through the area.

“They should keep windows and air vents closed and turn off air conditioning.”

The blaze happened on Bonfire Night – traditionally the fire service’s busiest time of the year.

Mr Wharton said that contingency plans had been put in place to cope with the strain.

He said: “Tackling this fire has been a county-wide effort which has involved 45 firefighters directly on the ground and affected every station in the county.

“We will be on the site for quite some time, but at the moment, it is too early to tell what has caused it.”