British Sugar reveals suspected cause of blaze at Bury St Edmunds factory

paul.derrick@iliffepublishing.co.uk

Published: 12:51, 24 February 2021

| Updated: 12:56, 24 February 2021

British Sugar has revealed the suspected cause of a blaze at its Bury St Edmunds factory which led to a massive response from the fire service.

Fifteen crews from across multiple counties rushed to the incident on Thursday at the factory, in Hollow Road, after Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service was alerted to the incident at 3.50pm.

The fire was in the processing plant and involved conveyor belt systems.

Fire crews at the British Sugar factory in Bury St Edmunds. Picture: Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service

The seat of the blaze was extinguished by 5.04pm and no-one was injured in the incident.

British Sugar launched an investigation into the cause.

Yesterday, a company spokesman said: "Our investigation is still ongoing, however early indications suggest it was caused by a spark within a collection of dust particles under a belt.

"If this does turn out to be the cause, we will of course address it as appropriate."

They said the area was safe and sugar production was not affected.

Bury St Edmunds Fire Paul Derrick