Up to 70 firefighters remain at factory fire scene

Up to 70 firefighters remain at the scene of a huge factory fire in Wolverhampton, which caused concerns about air quality and led to warnings about keeping windows shut.

The blaze broke out at a building near Sunbeam Street's junction with Upper Villiers Street in Blakenhall, Wolverhampton, shortly after 07:30 GMT on Wednesday with cylinders exploding inside.

At its height, more than 100 firefighters were dealing with the blaze, which caused significant disruption and took many hours to contain, West Midlands Fire Service said.

Up to 14 relief crews will stay overnight and chief fire officer Simon Tuhill said they would be in touch with business owners "in the future" about accessing the site.

Earlier, residents were advised to stay inside and keep windows and doors closed as huge plumes of smoke billowed over the city and could seen from miles away.

Ashes were falling from the plume onto cars and homes underneath, with a strong smell of smoke in the area.

Tuhill said crews monitored the plume and chemicals within it, prompting a warning by the UK Health Security Agency in the West Midlands for people to keep windows closed due to the fire's toxicity.

People living nearby told the BBC they believed the building was a space that different businesses used.

Tuhill said he believed the fire was in industrial units at the site, which included a "variety" of businesses.

Crews from Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Shropshire also helped deal with the fire, which was normal procedure for incidents of this severity, the West Midlands service said.

No homes or businesses were evacuated, but an evacuation point on Bromley Street was arranged if it was necessary, he said.

The cause of the fire was not yet known as it was "very early days", Tuhill added, but fire investigators had been at the scene.

Crowds gathered on Moor Street South and on Lower Villiers Street, where the police cordon on to Upper Villiers Street started in both places, while police redirected traffic.

The factory measures about 100m x 50m, the fire service said, describing the outbreak as "significant".

"We're expecting significant disruption in and around this site for the rest of today, this evening and overnight while we work at the scene, so please plan and adjust any journeys accordingly," a spokesperson said.

Tuhill said he expected crews to remain at the scene for 24 hours.

"We are incredibly grateful to all the local residents and business owners who have been incredibly supportive of us being here, giving us the space to work," he said.

"In the future we will be liaising with local business owners to make sure we can get them access both to the building and of course surrounding properties as well."

Gas company staff and West Midlands Police were also at the scene, supporting firefighters, the service said.

Smoke from the fire could be seen across the city with a listener to BBC Radio WM stating he could smell and taste the smoke as he stood in the Mander Centre car park, almost a mile (1.6km) away from the fire.

"Smoke is drifting across Wolverhampton city centre which you can both smell and taste in the air," said Steve, from Bushbury.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesperson said it was called to the fire just before 08:00 and its hazardous area response team was sent to the fire before being withdrawn.

There are no reports of any injuries, they added.

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