THESE dramatic pictures show the moment an accidental spark caused a devastating fire in a Worcester scrap yard.

But fire bosses said it could have been much worse if not for the owner of Blackpole Metals who kept a well ordered yard and CCTV which allowed fire investigators to quickly identify the cause of the blaze.

The devastating fire began by accident after a smouldering spark from metal cutting ignited a huge blaze which destroyed 60 vehicles and other machinery.

The spark created a smoudlering fire which did not ignite until hours later when staff were off site.

However, fire bosses praised the owner at Blackpole Metals who kept a well organised yard, helping to prevent the fire spreading to surrounding buildings.

The fire service say if not for this the fire could easily have caused much more damage, potentially wiping out two adjoining businesses.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) were called to the fire at a metal recycling centre on Blackpole Trading Estate West at 8.34pm on Tuesday.

Six fire appliances from Worcester, Droitwich, Bromsgrove and Upton were deployed to the incident, supported by a specialist foam unit, water carrier, environmental protection unit, aerial appliance and a hazardous materials officer.

On arrival firefighters were faced with a substantial fire involving approximately 60 scrap vehicles and large on site plant machinery which were contained within a small yard and surrounded on all sides by buildings and the main Worcester train line.

Fire crews immediately stopped the trains and acted quickly to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings however their task was made more difficult due to limited access to the site and the risk of cylinders involved in the fire exploding. In spite of this crews managed to stop the fire spreading and utilised a firefighting foam attack to bring the fire under control. No-one was injured during the fire.

Police quickly created a cordon and evacuated nearby premises, the Environment Agency provided specialist support to the fire service’s environmental protection unit preventing foam and water runoff from entering the nearby Barbourne Brook and Ambulance personnel were quickly on scene to deal with any potential injuries.

Group Commander George Marshall from HWFRS said: ‘The crews who attended did a fantastic job in containing a severe fire under very difficult circumstances. Thanks to their prompt and professional actions we were able to prevent this incident from escalating further and keep local business trading’.

GC Marshall also praised the owner of the site. He said: “The yard was very well organised, with good fire separation. This greatly assisted firefighting operations and helped to avoid significant damage to surrounding businesses.

"In addition on site CCTV cameras were able to capture the outbreak of the fire which clearly showed it to have started accidentally.”

If anyone would like any Business Fire Safety advice they can find information on HWFRS’s website www.hwfire.org.uk or by calling 0800 0321155.