Shropshire factory staff evacuated as fire starts in roof space

Hundreds of workers had to be evacuated from a meat processing plant in Shropshire after a fire started in the roof of the building where repairs were being carried out.

Firefighters were call-ed out to the Anglo Beef Processors factory in Battlefield Road, Shrewsbury, shortly after 1.15pm yesterday.

Workers had to stand outside the site for about an hour while crews dealt with the blaze.

Ray Johnston, general manager of the plant, said: “There was an evacuation in response to the fire alarms, involving about 400 people.”

He said the cause of the blaze was being investigated, but was related to some repair work that was being carried out on the roof.

“There was no major structural damage and it was really all precautions,” he said. “It was a very, very small area of fire,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said a thermal imaging camera was used to check for any remaining hotspots in the roof space.

In a separate incident a man in his 60s was led to safety by an off-duty firefighter when a pan on a stove caught fire at a home in Field Crescent, Harlescott, Shrewsbury, just after 4pm yesterday.

And firefighters also tackled a blaze at a domestic garage in Astley Lane, Hadnall, just after 5.40pm yesterday. A Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said nobody was hurt.