Crews battle raging fire at Preston shed manufacturers

A "serious" fire at a commercial outlet in Preston threatened to damage neighbouring train lines, say fire services.
Four crews were called out to Sheds 4 U on Aqueduct Street following reports of the emergency at around 3am on Monday, February 26.Four crews were called out to Sheds 4 U on Aqueduct Street following reports of the emergency at around 3am on Monday, February 26.
Four crews were called out to Sheds 4 U on Aqueduct Street following reports of the emergency at around 3am on Monday, February 26.

Four crews were called out to Sheds 4 U on Aqueduct Street following reports of the emergency at around 3am on Monday, February 26.

Firefighters arrived to find a "well developed" fire with flames reaching the railway bridge next to the plot.

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Watch Manager Mark Woodward said: "We were called out to a fire at a shed manufacturers, around 10 sheds that had been stacked up were on fire.

Four crews were called out to Sheds 4 U on Aqueduct Street following reports of the emergency at around 3am on Monday, February 26.Four crews were called out to Sheds 4 U on Aqueduct Street following reports of the emergency at around 3am on Monday, February 26.
Four crews were called out to Sheds 4 U on Aqueduct Street following reports of the emergency at around 3am on Monday, February 26.

"Our first priority was to stop all trains on the West Coast Main Line as the fire had reached the bridge and was in danger of affecting the electrical lines.

"We then had to think about stopping our water jets from hitting the overhead lines and equipment.

"The crews worked very hard with one jet and two hose reels to stop the fire from spreading to other properties.

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"This was a good example of the crews working quickly to identify and avert the risk. The fire could easily have spread and damaged the bridge.

Four crews were called out to Sheds 4 U on Aqueduct Street following reports of the emergency at around 3am on Monday, February 26.Four crews were called out to Sheds 4 U on Aqueduct Street following reports of the emergency at around 3am on Monday, February 26.
Four crews were called out to Sheds 4 U on Aqueduct Street following reports of the emergency at around 3am on Monday, February 26.

"The incident was a serious one and the cause of the fire is now under investigation."

A Network Rail spokesperson said; “In the early hours of this morning we received a report of a lineside fire near to one of our bridges, in the Preston area.

"Our operations manager visited the site to check the structure, and no damage was found. Services were not impacted and a normal timetable resumed this morning in time for the working week.”

Nobody was injured during the incident.