Blaze wreaks mayhem in Wolverhampton
Students, school pupils and families were evacuated, trains were cancelled and Wolverhampton's main ring road ground to a halt as the city's landmark Carvers building supplies depot was wrecked by fire.
Students, school pupils and families were evacuated, trains were cancelled and Wolverhampton's main ring road ground to a halt as the city's landmark Carvers building supplies depot was wrecked by fire.
Eyewitnesses described hearing "an explosion" after flames ripped the roof of the landmark firm in Little's Lane, causing it to collapse.
Plumes of acrid smoke hundreds of feet high could be seen for miles around as more than 40 firefighters battled to keep the fire under control and stop flames spreading to potentially explosive gas canisters kept on the site.
People stopped to witness the drama unfold, describing the "tragic" scenes as the historic company became engulfed in flames.
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Isabelle Hawkins, who witnessed the fire taking hold, said: "I have never seen anything like this before, it's terrible. Carvers is such an old building and such a well known company in Wolverhampton, it's really shocking and so sad to see this happening."
The 38-year-old Boots worker from Pendeford said: "I was walking past and saw the smoke but within minutes the flames were coming through the roof. It's tragic."
Tom Coleclough, aged 21, of Burton Crescent in Heath Town, said he had seen bellowing smoke through his window at home.
"I just saw a big cloud of smoke and then noticed the flames. I heard the fire service coming and saw loads of engines and I knew it must be bad.
"There was someone from Carvers making sure people didn't get too near. He said it wasn't safe because there were gas canisters inside and they were worried it might explode."
Community volunteer John Ferguson, aged 36, from Penn Fields, watched the drama unfold.
He said: "Carvers employs a lot of people in Wolverhampton at a time when people are already struggling to find work. This is particularly tragic. This is going to affect a lot of people."
Another bystander, who did not wish to be named, said he had been walking down Wednesfield Road and took a detour to see what was going on after seeing smoke.
"They evacuated all the workers, one of them said it had started in the wood section," he said.
"They think it was the furnace that dries the timber. It was just smoking when I got here but within around 20 minutes a third of the building had gone up in flames."
Another described hearing an explosion as the flames tore through the building.
Stunned Carvers staff today stood in tears as they watched the fire take hold at their workplace while some who had parked on the site this morning saw their cars destroyed by flames.
Jack Kelly, spokesman for bus company National Express West Midlands, said: "Traffic has been slow but there were no diversions that we could put in place.
"We operated as full as a service as possible and the Midland Metro ran as normal."
Eyewitness Steven Hadley described seeing smoke as he was heading towards Wolverhampton University at about 11.45am.
The digital media development student, aged 36, said: "I was by the Asda at Molineux and could see the smoke over the main road from there. It was thick, black smoke and I knew it was going to get bigger and bigger so I ran into the university and grabbed by camera.
"I got within about 50 metres of the building before the police arrived.
"It seemed to start in the middle of the building and it was spreading quite quickly. It was banging quite loudly.
"The police held up the road to let the fire engines through.The smoke looked really black and it was spreading quickly."
Shocked residents from across the region took to social networking site Twitter to describe seeing the smoke from their homes including one from Essington, four-and-a-half miles away.
Peter Ray, aged 61, a contractor for Grange Fencing Ltd was working at Carvers setting up a display when he heard the fire alarm sound at 11.30am. He said: "We heard the alarm, we didn't know what it was at first and then somebody came out, they said there was a fire and everybody had to get out.
"I wasn't worried at all but we had to get out pretty quick."
Francis Hickman, aged 63, of Whetstone Grove in Bushbury is a retired former security guard from Carvers. He said he was at Wolverhampton Market when he noticed the smoke.
"I came to have a look and I couldn't believe my eyes. The whole thing has just gone up. What they've got to worry about is the gas canisters as that could be really dangerous.
"I couldn't see the flames straight away but as soon as I got a bit closer I could see them looking like they were going hundreds of feet into the air. They have been going for years at Carvers, I can't believe it." Chris Hawes, aged 47, said he saw the fire from his house in Chervil Rise, Heath Town. He said: "You can't believe stuff like this happens. I hope they've got some precautions in place to stop it spreading further. You don't expect stuff like this to happen. It's very surreal."
A former employee of Carvers, Neil Jefferies, stopped to watch the fire after noticing it on his lunch break. He said he feared that the blaze could leave hundreds of people out of work.
He said: "I can't understand why it's gone up so fast," said Mr Jefferies, aged 37, from Perton who used to work in sales for the timber department.
"It's really sad. Carvers has been in Wolverhampton for so long. This affects such a lot of people, I hope nobody was injured but I also feel sorry for the people who are now going to be out of work."
Bar worker Lee Jones, 19, from Wolverhampton Road, said: "People have been saying that someone smoked a cigarette and it started the fire.
"I got here at about noon. It's got worse. They have moved everyone away as there are four gas canisters by the side where the firemen are now. I saw it from my bedroom window. I saw smoke and knew it was a bad fire."
A worker from Carvers who didn't want to be named said: "I just followed my colleagues out the door. We were told there was a fire but had no idea how bad it was. I've been told the whole building is on fire."
Civic leaders today said they hoped the historic firm would be able to recover quickly.
Councillor Peter Bilson, deputy leader of Wolverhampton City Council, saw the smoke from the Civic Centre. "Hopefully no one has been injured. I hope that Carvers, as a major employer, will recover from this quickly.
"They will have all the necessary insurance but it will no doubt cause disruption for the company and for the many people who work there. Our sympathies are with them."
Councillor Milkinder Jaspal, who represents the area where Carvers is located, said: "I was in Tettenhall and could see the smoke from there.
"I was meeting residents near St Michael and All Angels when someone suddenly said 'look at that'."
Students from the Victoria Halls development, which falls within the "blast zone" of Carvers, were evacuated along with homes in Faulkland Crescent, Lock Street and
Great Western Street amid fears of explosions. More than 300 pupils from Woden Primary School were also evacuated.
Gabriel Timmins, aged 58, who lives in Faulkland Crescent, said she first noticed the fire when she went outside to hang out her washing.
"I came outside to put things on the washing line and saw the smoke," she said.
"It spread really quickly. It's terrible there are gas bottles in there. I'm really quite worried."
Another eyewitness Daniel Jones, 17, of Winchester Road, Fordhouses, said: "There were fire engines all over the place. I've never seen a fire as big as that before."
The St Edmund's Catholic School pupil added: "It was a huge fire. There were roads blocked off and pavements so I couldn't get too close. There were people everywhere."
Mr Pat Murphy, aged 65, from Castlecroft, said: "Carvers has been here for years and years and it's a real shame to see it in such a state.
"They have been moving people away from the grass verges and it seems to be getting worse."
Company bosses said the fire broke out in the warehouse, which stores various building supplies.
David Carver, director of the company, said the fire broke out in the warehouse, which stores various building supplies.
He said: "It's our main warehouse.
"I can't say any more than that as we just don't know. The fire brigade have been doing their best.
"We don't believe anybody has been hurt and we believe we evacuated the building completely. The fire spread quickly, it is a major incident."
