Fire rips through Bedfordshire office block

The blaze which broke out in the building at Cemex, Manor Road, Kempston Hardwick, took two hours to extinguish.

Firefighters from Kempston Community Fire station were first on the scene and called for back up from Ampthill and Toddington.

Station Commander Jason Gell who was in command said “This was a challenging fire and we had to call in our Water Carrier to provide us with additional water to fight the fire. I can’t be certain of the cause at the moment so we will be going back today to investigate.”

A Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman added the alarm was raised on Friday (February 26) when members of the public dialled 999 and reported a “crackling noise” coming from the site.

Firefighters fought the fire wearing breathing apparatus to protect themselves from smoke and fumes and using a light portable pump, two fire jets, two fire hoses and a thermal imaging camera.

The building was 50 per cent destroyed by fire and 100 per cent smoke damaged.