Industrial Fire blaze in Exeter
9:21 am, Sunday 6th June 2010
The company at the centre of a huge blaze at a city industrial unit has revealed the fire was caused by an electrical fault.
As reported in the Echo, hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes as 85 firefighters fought the fire at the Colas depot in Tan Lane.
Nearby flats quickly became affected by the smoke and a decision was taken to evacuate residents and nearby firms.
They were allowed to return when the fire was brought under control two hours later.
Paramedics were called, but no one was injured.
Smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away and a host of dramatic images from the blaze were caught on camera by Echo readers.
A Colas spokesman said: "The depot will be back up and running on Monday, although it is likely to take until the end of the week for the telephone system to be back to normal.
"It is a relatively small depot with three staff and the office and warehouse were unaffected. The fire was in the workshop and was caused by an electrical fault."
The city's emergency services have won praise from the public for the way they dealt with Thursday's blaze at Colas.
Pam Rice, co-ordinator of Turntable, the charity which provides good quality second hand furniture for people on benefits, is based in Exton Road.
Pam and the rest of her staff, who are mainly volunteers, were evacuated at the height of the blaze and had also been told to move their vans from the yard as a precaution.
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