Major blaze at Coolkit factory
7th July 2023
UK: Temperature-controlled van specialist CoolKit has been hit by a massive fire at its premises in Farrington Place, Burnley.
Eight fire engines from Burnley, Hyndburn, Nelson, Bacup, Rawtenstall, Fulwood, and Blackburn, were called to the premises at 15.24 yesterday (6 July). Four incident response units from the North West Ambulance Service were also called to the scene along with several police vehicles.
Staff were evacuated and a large cordon put in place. Nearby residents were told to close their windows and doors.
In a company statement, Coolkit MD Daniel Miller said: “This afternoon a fire broke out in one of the two industrial units comprising our Burnley HQ. Emergency services are presently on the scene. All of our employees and other people on site were evacuated safely.”
The incident was not scaled down until late evening but Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said that firefighting operations would continue throughout the night.
UPDATE: July 7:
In an update later today, CoolKit MD Daniel Miller told the Cooling Post that the company was formulating a plan to ensure it would build back from the setback.
“The blaze destroyed Unit 6 and our offices, but fortunately Unit 4 was untouched, and we are continuing operations from there.
“We are still in the process of assessing our priorities but, in the short term, we will focus on business continuity and have already been in touch with colleagues, customers and suppliers to outline our immediate plans. We will be updating them all as our plans crystallise.
“Of course, this is a big setback but we believe it is a temporary one. We have exceptional people and a full order book, and we are determined to take the steps we need to take to meet our commitments to our customers,” he added.
