THIRTEEN FIRE crews from across Worcestershire battled a massive fire at a dairy factory in Droitwich thought to be caused by faulty electrics.

Miraculously, only one man – an engineer – was injured in the blaze at Müller Wiseman Dairies and was treated at the scene for a minor head injury.

The firm’s 758 employees have been told the dairy will remain closed for the time being. The company said it is remaining in contact with them through phone calls, emails and the company’s intranet to update them on the situation.

The fire and ambulance services were called to the food processing factory in Wassage Way, Hampton Lovett, at 10pm yesterday after the fire broke out in a low-voltage electrical switch room on the second floor of the three-storey building, which then spread to a compressor room.

In total 75 firefighters and 10 engines attended the scene. During the incident, crews had to contend with structural damage to ceilings and walls and the fire was successfully brought under control within five hours of the initial call with 25 per cent of the second floor sustaining damage.

Area commander Keith Chance, who was at the scene, said: “It was a very difficult and arduous incident. The crews worked hard and well to stop the fire spreading. We had to isolate the power then we were able to fight the blaze from the inside.

“We were dealing with a quite serious incident and the crews made sure that it didn’t get any worse.”

Simon Jelfs, a crew commander who was also on-site, said: “I am proud of my crew. They showed true professionalism in a tough and dangerous fire.”

Ambulance crews were also sent to the scene but left at 2.40am this morning having treated one casualty.

Müller Wiseman Dairies confirmed in a statement that all of its employees were accounted for with one member of staff treated on site.

Fire investigators are now working with on-site specialists to establish the cause of the fire but it is not thought to be suspicious.

Graeme Jack, communications director for Müller Wiseman Dairies, said there would be little if any disruption to farmers or customers because the company’s other dairies would be able cope with extra production while the impact of the fire was assessed and repaired.

He said: “There will be no impact on farmers. The milk will still be collected from them.

“We are fortunate that we have a network of dairies stretching across the country so we are basically putting into place our contingency plan to deal with the situation so they can carry on the production effectively making milk 24 hours a day if needs be.

“We have a focus to still be able to deliver fresh milk and products to our customer.”