Fire chiefs deployed drone photography to alert them to ‘hot spots’ whilst they tackled the Corkers Crisp factory fire near Ely.
At 2.47pm on Saturday (30) crews were called to the fire on Main Street in Pymoor.
Around 60 firefighters, including crews from Ely, Littleport, Chatteris, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Wisbech, St Neots, Burwell, Cottenham, Stanground, March, Soham, Manea attended the incidents.
The high volume pump, crewed by Gamlingay and Papworth, along with the water carrier from Ramsey also attended. They were supported by crews from Downham Market and Outwell in Norfolk, Newmarket in Suffolk and the water bowser from the USAF in Mildenhall.
The crews arrived to find a well-developed fire involving a variety of oils in several industrial buildings. The crews worked extremely hard in challenging conditions, due to the weather being windy and very hot, as well as difficulty maintaining a water supply.
Firefighters remained at the scene throughout the night and Sunday tackling the fire.
Fortunately, there were no casualties.
The fire investigation is now underway.
Fire chiefs issued a statement praising not just the firefighters but those behind the scenes.
“We want to praise the hidden side of our frontline - our control staff,” said a spokesman.
“A huge well done for yesterday to blue and white watches. They took 15 calls for the Pymoor fire alone, mobilised 31 fire crews and special appliances, logged scores of radio messages, rang and took calls from partner agencies, utilities and others.
“They also made sure the rest of the county had adequate fire cover and dealt with 45 separate incidents across Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. Not bad for a day’s work! Well done all and thank you.”
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