Fire sparks evacuation at BAE

Staff at BAE were evacuated last night after a fire broke out in an extractor unit, say fire services.

Crews were called to the site in Samlesbury at around midnight last night following reports of a machinery fire.

Firefighters were forced to dismantle the unit and use thermal imaging cameras to ensure that the fire was extinguished.

A spokesman for the fire service said: "We were called to reports of a fire at BAE. It seems that there was a smouldering fire generating smoke in an extractor unit.

"It was quite a labour intensive fire as we had to dismantle the machinery to ensure that the fire was properly extinguished."

Representatives at BAE confirmed that emergency services had been called to the site last night.

Head of Media at BAE, Kate Watcham, said: “There was a small fire at BAE Systems’ Samlesbury site during the nightshift which resulted in the fire brigade attending the site.

"The situation was dealt with quickly and all employees evacuated the building safely.”

Nobody was injured during the incident.