Production halted at glass factory after fire

GLASS production has been halted following a fire at a North-East factory. "We hope to resume operations on the site as soon as possible, but it is too early to give an exact date," said a spokeswoman, following the blaze at Pilkington´s Middlesbrough production plant.

About 40 firefighters fought the flames which threatened to sweep through the factory on North Ormesby Road, on Tuesday night.

It was started by a short-circuit in an electrical compressor, and spread to two offices, filling the remainder of the building with smoke.

The fire was tackled inside the building by ten firefighters wearing breathing apparatus. Fire crews were at the scene for three hours and used heavy cutting gear to break into the burning building. Cleveland Fire Brigade watch manager Alan Peirson (COR) said: "The fire itself was not very big, but there was a lot of sorting out, a lot of glass.

"The fire was under control fairly quickly.´´ The company spokeswoman added: "There was a small fire at our North Ormesby Road site in Middlesbrough at approximately 11pm on 19.Sept. This was extinguished quickly by the local fire brigade.

"There was no-one working on site at the time. The building suffered extensive smoke damage and an investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the fire.´´