Smethwick fire: Business owner 'devastated' after flames rip through furniture factory
A firm's boss has spoke of his devastation at a blaze which engulfed a storage building on the grounds of a furniture factory.
Flames took hold at Heartlands Furniture Wholesale Ltd in Cranford Street, Smethwick, late Thursday evening.
West Midlands Fire Service was called at 8.32pm to the blaze where 40 firefighters were on the scene at its peak.
Managing director Saleem Shareef, who was on the scene at the time, said: “We are obviously devastated by the fire. We have lost stock and one building.
“It is not a good experience to go through, but there is not much you can do about it. The fire brigade came very quickly and managed to keep the fire away from the warehouse and under control.”
There were no injuries and the business is operational.
Flames ripped through the 10,000sq ft storage building and roared into the sky as the fire took hold on Thursday night, sending smoke billowing into the sky.
The flames were extinguished by mid-morning, but smoke still rose from the smouldering and charred remains as firefighters continued to damp down the scene.
Firefighters tackled the burning embers from outside of the building, due to the structure’s unstable roof, as there were fears it could collapse.
Crews encountered difficulty when they first arrived on the scene due to icy weather conditions and the building’s unstable structure.
West Midlands Fire Service spokesman James Round said: “Significant structural collapse has taken place due to fire damage and our crews initially had difficulty reaching some areas due to the unsafe structure.
“Ice also presented a hazard for our crews, and council gritters were called out to aid in making the area safer.”
The factory is located around 200m from the new Midland Met Hospital which is under construction.
Residents living nearby spoke of their shock as they watched the flames take hold from their homes.
One man said: “It was quite shocking to see. The flames were big and there was a lot of smoke.”
Maria Leonidou, aged 27, said: “There was big flames and a lot of smoke.”
Meanwhile nearby businesses said trade had been affected due to the closure of Cranford Street.
Mohammed Hanif, who works at Jet Petrol Station, said: “We haven’t had any customers since the road closed last night. We have lost trade.”
The road was closed for safety precautions and to aid the firefighting operation.
Water was pumped from a nearby canal and sent through a long tube into the factory complex, which firefighters dosed on the blaze.
There were two hydraulic platforms and a high volume pumping unit in use at the height of the blaze.
But the incident was scaled back early Friday morning, and was scaled back to two crews by 1.25pm.
The cause of the blaze was still not yet known.
