Fire crews’ quick work prevent 17 gas cylinders exploding in village blaze near Northampton

Quick-thinking firefighters managed to avoid a pile of gas cannisters exploding in a fire on a village industrial estate on Sunday (May 29).

Crews from Mereway, The Mounts, Moulton and Kettering were called to reports of a blaze at Ferro Fields, off Spratton Road in Brixworth, at 8.18am.

They found plumes of black smoke billowing from a storage unit and a vehicle, plus 17 cylinders which were later identified as containing propane.

A Northampton Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson said: “The first crew on the scene stopped the fire from spreading by using a hose reel to control the flames before firefighters eventually doused it completely. A winch was used to remove the van away from the blaze.

“Investigations have since determined that the fire started accidentally. The contents within the fire were destroyed while an adjacent building suffered some heat damage.”