Foam in river after warehouse fire

Firefighters have been battling to stop detergent foam from spreading further down river following a fire at a warehouse in Newton Aycliffe late last week.

As the fire was extinguished at Stiller, a warehouse containing aerosol cans, on Friday, a reaction caused foam to travel down the River Skerne to Darlington centre. However, the Environment Agency has confirmed that there is no toxic threat from the foam.

Staff had to be evacuated from the premises at 1pm on Friday afternoon, although it was confirmed that there were no injuries.

Fire crews managed to save the main offices at the factory, with employees expected to go back to work once the site has been made safe.

The operations manager for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, Dave Turnbull, said:

“What we have managed to do is stop the fire spreading to other buildings and offices so the management side of Stiller is still operational.

“The company, as far as I’m aware, will be able to kick off ASAP. Once they get the goahead from the Health and Safety Executive, they can start operating. All they will need is another storage area.”

An investigation into the blaze is still being carried out.