Huge blazes cause devastation
FIREFIGHTERS are trying to establish the cause of a fire which swept through a family business.
The Great Harwood blaze engulfed 600 pallets and a repair workshop as well as damaging two other buildings and destroying eight vehicles at a nearby car parking company.
Seven fire crews were called to JJ Pallets, of Alan Ramsbottom Way, on Tuesday, July 10 shortly after 12.40pm.
Around 35 firefighters took more than two hours to get the flames under control as they burned with such ferocity they were unable to get close.
Roads were shut, causing traffic congestion, and a thick plume of smoke could be sen from several miles away.
Coun Gareth Molineux, from Great Harwood, said: “The fire could be seen from quite some distance, it was very visible with black smoke.
“There was a video of it from Clayton-le-Moors, which is two miles away.
“I suspect it is going to cause the business some considerable damage.”
The cause of fire is thought to have been accidental, but investigators were sifting through the aftermath on Wednesday to try and establish the exact cause as we went to press.
There were fears it would spread to other nearby businesses but the only wider significant damage was to the eight vehicles.
Police were also called and assisted with closures of Hyndburn Road, between the Great Harwood Tesco roundabout and Whalley Road, Alan Ramsbottom Way and Park Road.
Watch manager Gary Drinkwater, from Hyndburn fire station, said the blaze began outside and, with the hot weather making conditions ‘bone dry’, quickly grew.
He said: “The stacks of pallets burned so fiercely the heat generated meant we had to fight the fire from distance.
“It was one of the biggest fires we have had this year. It’s still being investigated but we believe it was accidental.”
JJ Pallets was started as a business more than 25 years ago by John Janeczko, who passed the firm on to son-in-law Neil Kenyon in 2010.
We were unable to contact the owners of the business at the time of going to press.