More than 100 firefighters have spent the night tackling a major incident on Lower Horseley Fields, Wolverhampton. Though resources have been scaled down, several fire appliances and crews on scene.
Local road closures remain in place, and will for some time, as our resources require access in and out of the incident area. Lower Walsall Street, Lower Horseley Fields, and Colliery Road are all currently closed.
Local trains have also been affected, with journeys between Wolverhampton and Birmingham being delayed or cancelled. We recommend checking before you travel.
Just after 9pm last night, four fire engines responded to the fire, which eventually involved multiple factory units measuring a total of approximately 200m x 200m.
This response quickly increased, and within an hour we had more than 20 of our appliances and 100 firefighters tackling the blaze.
At around 10pm we declared this a major incident, due to the scale of the incident and its proximity to the nearby railway line and houses.
Crews worked assertively and tirelessly throughout the night, tackling the fire from multiple angles.
Alongside fighting the fire itself, one of the main priorities during the night was creating a fire break, to prevent the fire from spreading any further.
West Midlands Fire and Rescue are working closely with partner agencies, such as Police, Ambulance and other local authorities, with several multi-agency briefings taking place.
They are also working with colleagues at Network Rail to halt all nearby trains and isolate the overhead power supply to the train tracks, whilst Police colleagues managed local road closures to ensure a safe route in and out for our crews.
A plan is in place to evacuate local residents that were within the 200m risk area, with help from Wolverhampton Council.
Relief plans are currently being created as we look to draw this incident to a safe conclusion. Buildings involved in the fire will be thoroughly searched once it is safe for our crews to do so.
