A fire broke out today at Masters Logisitcs in Stretham (See map on Google maps), believed to involve two factory units, with fire crews called out at 13.50. The fire is still in full progress at the time of writing (15.30).

Flames were visible from several miles away, and thick black smoke was visible from at least 10-15 miles away. The acrid smelling plumes were heading North East towards Little Thetford, Barway, Stuntney and Ely.

The A10 was closed between Stretham Roundabout and Station Road, with later closures believed to be extending as far as Ely, with diversions via Wicken and Soham.

Fire services are issuing the following message: “SAFETY MESSAGE: Residents advised to keep doors and windows closed as a precaution.”

The fire service has a facebook page with information in which they reiterated in a post at 16.13: ‘This is a threat to public safety so all residents in the Stretham area are advised to close all doors and windows!’.

They go on to say ‘The fire is affecting a single storey factory building measuring approximatley 100m by 40m. There are currently nine crews in attendance at the scene and there are no reports of any casualties.’

Environment Agency officers are already at the scene investigating the environmental impact. In a statement at 16.45 they said “an as-yet unspecified amount of diesel has got into ditches. Fire crews are still on site dealing with the incident and we will contain the diesel spill as quickly as possible.”

At 17.10 fire services stated that they expected that the nine crews in attendance would scale back to four units during the next four hours, and the A10 would remain closed during that time. They also said that three people were treated for smoke inhalation, with one taken to hospital. In the end, the A10 stayed closed overnight as firefighters remained at the scene.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue have a great selection of photos on site, on their facebook page.

How did it start? Ely Standard stated on the day of the fire “…unconfirmed reports suggested a trailer at the warehouse blew a tyre which started the fire”. However, since then, Station Commander Martin Brown from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “The fire started from rubbish burning in an incinerator, which was located outside and to the rear of the premises. The fire then spread to a nearby lorry trailer and then to a warehouse very quickly.

The following pictures were taken from Burying Way, Little Thetford at 3pm (click to enlarge) [Photos by Roger Attrill]. Ely News has more pictures