Businesses on a Wolverhampton industrial estate were today counting the cost after firefighters told them they to evacuate their bases for 24 hours following a severe blaze.

Two hoses feeding welding tools from gas cylinders were set alight at Bilston Engineering Ltd on the Spring Road Industrial Estate, forcing four businesses and their workers off the site amid fears of an explosion. Workers at groundwork company Stave-Con were being paid to stay at home today, and bosses were forced to find somewhere to park six JCBs and trucks returning from building sites.

Fire chiefs said the order to stay away was purely in the interests of public safety and that a gas explosion was still a possibility.

But a spokesman for the company said: “This is going to cost us thousands.

“We’ve got 50 men that we will still have to pay, and we are supposed to be collecting 90 cubic metres of concrete to lay at the Black Country Living Museum.

“We have JCBs and tipper lorries that we have to find somewhere to store,” the spokesman added. 

“They are very expensive pieces of equipment.”

Plumbing parts company The Pipe Center and groundworks firm Techni-Bench Ltd were also forced to close today.

No-one from Bilston Engineering Ltd was on site or available to comment.

The fire broke out shortly before 3pm yesterday but it was out before firefighters got there after staff isolated the gas supply and used extinguishers they had on site.

Watch commander Martin Wood of Bilston fire station said: “Two acetyline cylinders containing gas used in welding were involved in the fire.

“Their hoses caught fire and the cylinders became very hot. 

“The gas is unstable and can explode if subjected to a shock.

“The person who pushed the cylinders into the yard exposed himself to an unnecessary risk.

“There was no damage to the building whatsoever but we have told businesses to evacuate for 24 hours until we are satisfied that the gas has completely cooled.”