Fire hits coal dust warehouse

A warehouse containing 30 tons of pulverised coal dust was today closed following a huge fire which sent thick smoke billowing across the Black Country skyline.

The blaze broke out at James Durrans & Sons Ltd on Ladymoor Road, Bilston, which supplies the dust to foundries around the world. About a fifth of the building was destroyed by the flames which also caused extensive damage to the roof. Investigations were taking place this morning to establish the cause of the outbreak, which is not thought to be suspicious.

Sales director Dave Holden says the business is also likely to be shut tomorrow while a major clean-up takes place.

All 11 staff were still on duty today helping to get the factory back to normal and helping firefighters by using forklifts to move bags of coal out of the warehouse.

Mr Holden said: "We are still investigating what happened so I cannot give a clear idea of how much this is going to cost.

"We produce 600 tons a week of coal dust for between 20 and 30 foundries all over the world," he said.

The blaze broke out at around 10.30pm last night.

Fire crews were expected to be at the site, which is on an industrial estate, for most of today damping down because of the combustible nature of the coal.

Watch commander Simon Hardiman, from Bilston fire station, said that at the height of the blaze more than 30 firefighters had been drafted in to tackle it.

"We are now awaiting an engineer's report to determine if the roof is safe for us to leave. Our main concern has been making sure the rest of the coal dust does not catch fire. We have to keep it at less than 70C (158F) and are continually pouring water over it," he added.

Watch commander Tony Bucknall said: "We managed to quell the flames after about 15 minutes but there was still a hazard because of the potential the coal dust could re-ignite.

Fire crews have been called to the factory numerous times in recent years. Outbreaks included a dust explosion which blew 130ft of sheet roofing from the building. Coal dust is used in the production of castings.