Mill fire is treated as suspicious says chief

“One floor was logged.”

He said firefighters equipped with breathing apparatus had to work in thick smoke and dangerous conditions.

“We are very cautious. Trying to find your way through and not knowing where the fire is - that’s what kills firefighters,” he said.

Because more breathing apparatus and oxygen was needed, at 1.30pm the officer in charge called for a further six pumps (fire engines).

Mr Wooler said: “The fire started in a wooden floor - there is a 12-inch gap between the floor and the ceiling.

“Over the years, when the building was a textile mill, lots of dust and cotton fell into the void. All that was on fire.

“The firefighters were working with it and it could have collapsed at any moment. “This was why it took so long.” “We didn’t identify the fire until two hours into the job because the building was smoke logged.

“An area about 20m by 30m was on fire.

“There was nobody inside so we didn’t have to go looking for anybody - we just couldn’t find the site of the fire.

“Once we started peeling up the floor we had access to the dust and materials that had been smouldering for a few hours.

“Looking at where and why it started, a fire shouldn’t have started there so we believe it is suspicious.”