FIREFIGHTERS from Cornwall and Devon tackled a fire that took hold at an industrial estate in Bude on Sunday.

Crews at Bude Community Fire Station were paged at 1.30pm on September 18 with a call of a fire at two large units on the Kings Hill industrial estate.

When the team got there, the unit had been engulfed in smoke and flames, and when crews managed to gain access to the front door, they found that the fire had spread throughout the building, including an office with an asbestos roof, limiting what they could do to stop the fire due to the toxic fumes and making the extinguishing process longer.

The fire was thought to have started in the main warehouse unit, but quickly spread to the building towards the front due to the amount of combustible material inside.

Crews from Delabole, Launceston, Callington, Wadebridge, St Austell, Padstow, Newquay, Saltash, Perranporth and Mevagissey, as well as Holsworthy and Hatherleigh also attended the scene.

Specialist vehicles, including the Aerial Ladder Platform from Newquay, the Command Support Vehicle from Launceston and the Water Carrier from Wadebridge were used to assist. Six main jets and breathing apparatus were used in the extinguishing of the blaze.

The fire was brought under control at approximately 6pm on Sunday evening, and crews were damping down the site the next morning. An investigation team attended the incident. The cause of the fire was not known as the Post went to press.

Members of the public and local residents in the area took to social media, claiming they had been told to keep their windows shut due to the risk of asbestos in the air. Although still awaiting the results of the level of asbestos, crews visited nearby industrial estates and homes in the area on Sunday and Monday to check they were not experiencing any problems, as well as assuring them of the low risk, despite the smell in the air from the smoke.

One gentleman in his mobile home had been unaware of the fire and had to be removed from the area and treated by paramedics, due to inhaling some of the fumes.

After the fire had been extinguished, Bude Community Fire Station wrote on their Facebook page: “A very tough and tiring job for all those involved — but another excellent example of how crews from both Cornwall and Devon come together from across the county and beyond, and work well together as a team.”

Bude Community Fire Station manager, Daryl Wellington, said: “The fire has now been extinguished entirely, and the building has been handed over to the owner and is now in his responsibility again.”