Overview
- A major blaze broke out at a factory on Crowther Industrial Estate in Washington on Friday, and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service deployed five appliances and an aerial ladder platform.
- Northumbria Police set a cordon around the site and urged people to avoid the area while the fire service asked nearby residents to keep windows and doors closed due to heavy smoke.
- Witnesses reported hearing several explosions as thick black smoke billowed for miles and was visible from major roads including the A1, A194 and Sunderland Highway.
- The North East Ambulance Service confirmed it had not treated any patients and there were no reported serious injuries, and crews scaled back the size of the response after several hours while remaining on scene.
- Crowther Industrial Estate houses light industrial and trade businesses, which heightens the risk of varied combustibles and local disruption, and the cause of the fire remains under formal investigation.