Stafford is on FIRE! SP Fireworks factory ablaze on Baswich

littleme

littleme

250,000th poster!
Staffordshire Police post on Facebook this morning...

Staffordshire Police
The joint investigation into the cause
of the explosion and fire at SP
Fireworks in Stafford will continue on
Friday morning and work will
continue throughout the night to
make the scene safe.
Emergency services plan to reduce
the size of the cordon in the early
hours of morning allowing Baswich
Lane to reopen to traffic. Tilcon Ave
will remain closed and cordoned off
whilst the investigation continues.
All the businesses accessed via
Tilcon Ave will remain closed and
sealed off whilst this work continues.
The response to this fire involved
dozens of colleagues from
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue, West
Midlands Ambulance Service, County
Council Highways, Network Rail,
Environment Agency, the Canal &
River Trust and Stafford Borough
Council. All working together to
ensure the safety of the wider area.
This was a challenging and complex
operation and we recognise the
impact it had on local residents and
we want to thank them for the
cooperation.
On Friday we will continue to
investigate this incident and work to
ensure everyone is accounted for.
Sadly at this stage we believe there
is a person unaccounted for and our
focus remains tracing those at the
factory shortly before the explosion.
A joint investigation in the incident
is already underway, which will work
to establish the cause and
circumstances immediately before
the fire.
Local nieghbourhood police officers
will remain at the scene throughout
the night and tomorrow whilst this
work continues.
Anyone with any information which
could help police and fire establish
the cause should call Staffordshire
Police on 101.





So very sad.
 
Maryland

Maryland

Well-Known Forumite
Surprisingly enterprising of the newsletter to have an actual photograph of the incident up on their webpage instead of one of a packet of fireworks, or possibly a fire engine somewhere with some firemen. However I see that they've also, cleverly, made the website unusable by installing large auto playing video adverts on every page. Quite what business model this is supposed to support I have no idea. It's not going to make a punter go out and buy the rag, and it's not going to keep the punter on the site and clicking away, so irritating is this practice. But Doubtless some bright spark got a pat on the back for being busy at maximising advertising revenue or something, so who at the NL would give a monkeys?
 
funkyfin2000

funkyfin2000

Well-Known Forumite
Man arrested and now two people missing! :

Two people are missing after a large blaze at a fireworks warehouse that saw two people taken to hospital.

Dramatic bursts of fireworks and thick smoke could be seen as the fire burned in Stafford on Thursday night.

Although the blaze at the unit of SP Fireworks was brought under control, firefighters remained at the scene through the night.

A 53-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the blaze, Staffordshire Police said.
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Staffordshire Police statement.

Police investigating the explosion at SP Plastics, which occurred at 5.15pm on Thursday 30 October 2014, can now confirm that two people remain unaccounted for. Police are unable to give any further details about those involved at this point, whilst the investigation progresses. The family members of those unaccounted for are being fully supported by family liaison officers.Throughout the night detectives have been working to establish who was in and around the industrial unit at the time of the explosion. This work has meant a number of people have been traced and they have been talking to officers about the incident.This morning the focus of the joint police and fire investigation will be to recover any potential evidence from the wider scene and assess the safety of the remaining structure in order to progress the search and investigation. Tilcon Avenue will remain closed and cordoned off whilst the investigation continues and all the businesses accessed via Tilcon Avenue will remain closed and sealed off whilst this takes place. Officers are hoping to reopen access to the business premises in the area as soon and possible so drivers can remove their vehicles and to allow the businesses to return to normal. Supt Ian Coxhead, from Staffordshire Police, said: “We have a great deal of sensitive and challenging work to complete in order to allow us to establish the cause of the explosion and following fire. We understand the unit was storing a significant volume of fireworks which appear to have been completely destroyed during the blaze last night. This makes the ongoing examination of the scene particularly challenging and we expect to be at the scene for some time. We can confirm a 53-year-old male has been arrested in connection with the incident.“One of people taken to hospital last night is in a poorly condition, whilst the second is stable after receiving treatment."We fully appreciate the impact this investigation is having on the local businesses and community and I want to thank them for their support in the last few hours. Our local neighbourhood police officers will remain at the scene throughout and I urge anyone with any information which could help police and fire establish the cause to call Staffordshire Police on 101.”Baswich Lane has reopened to traffic, however we do urge people to avoid the area if possible as there will continue to be delays whilst emergency services continue to investigate the incident.
 
citricsquid

citricsquid

Well-Known Forumite
Now, I'm no conspiracy theorist but... from an express and star article:

Customer [name redacted], from Sandringham Road, Penn, Wolverhampton, had just left the unit when the explosion happened.

The 53-year-old said: “I had just bought a few fireworks, and I was just putting them in the back of my van when the place when it all exploded,” added Mr Collins. “The front just shot out of the shop.”
Click to expand...

From the BBC article regarding the arrest:

A 53-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the blaze, Staffordshire Police said.
Click to expand...

That's either a major coincidence, or...
 
Last edited:
Z

Zhaine1989

A few posts under my belt
funkyfin2000 said:
Anyone got any daylight pics of the scene today??
Click to expand...

1414749962305_wps_3_PIC_BY_SOFIA_BOUZIDI_CATE.jpg

1414750920815_wps_14_PIC_BY_SOFIA_BOUZIDI_CATE.jpg
1414750925079_wps_15_PIC_BY_SOFIA_BOUZIDI_CATE.jpg


Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...le-huge-blaze-Stafford-fireworks-factory.html
 
db

db

#chaplife
strange hearing stafford all over the national news channels, radio 1, etc.. really hope everyone is ok, but two people "unaccounted for" doesn't sound good :hmm:

citricsquid said:
Now, I'm no conspiracy theorist but... from an express and star article:

Customer John Collins, from Sandringham Road, Penn, Wolverhampton, had just left the unit when the explosion happened.

The 53-year-old said: “I had just bought a few fireworks, and I was just putting them in the back of my van when the place when it all exploded,” added Mr Collins. “The front just shot out of the shop.”
Click to expand...

From the BBC article regarding the arrest:

A 53-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the blaze, Staffordshire Police said.
Click to expand...

That's either a major coincidence, or...
Click to expand...
woah, excellent spot!
emot-tinfoil.gif
 
M

markpa12003

Well-Known Forumite
I hope the two people accounted for are found safe and well. Fingers (very much) crossed.

I've never had any dealings with SP fireworks, however I have been a customer of Stafford Plastics (windows). They are a superb, professional company.
 
Frontal

Frontal

Well-Known Forumite
citricsquid said:
Now, I'm no conspiracy theorist but... from an express and star article:



From the BBC article regarding the arrest:



That's either a major coincidence, or...
Click to expand...

Can we not start making assumptions using peoples names in association with ongoing police investigations ? It'd be horrible to imply an innocent man may potentially be responsible for 2 missing persons.
 
Last edited:
db

db

#chaplife
Frontal said:
Can we not start making assumptions using peoples names in association with ongoing police investigations ? It'd be horrible to imply an innocent man may be responsible for 2 deaths.
Click to expand...
completely agree with you that no-one should name names in regards to any ongoing investigation, but this was just something already in the public domain that @citricsquid noticed and thought was an interesting co-incidence.. it may amount to nothing, but it's interesting to note nonetheless!
 
John Marwood

John Marwood

I ♥ cryptic crosswords
Frontal said:
Can we not start making assumptions using peoples names in association with ongoing police investigations ? It'd be horrible to imply an innocent man may be responsible for 2 deaths.
Click to expand...

Please be aware that should any charges be brought against anyone there are strict laws against reporting ( includes all internet use ) anything other than names, ages, addresses, charges, bail details and court dates
 
Frontal

Frontal

Well-Known Forumite
wildwood said:
You are ASSUMING they are dead?
Click to expand...

It's true, I am, but I did use the term 'may'. But I hope they are not.

Doesn't excuse naming a person as a potential suspect based on no evidence whatsoever.

Edit: cheers citric. Hypothesis is fine, but netcrawlers harvest information indiscriminately.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top