Three-day inferno at Stiller Distribution hits 7,000 pallets
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CM COVER STORY
STILLER DISTRIBUTION and Warehousing is recovering from a lire that resulted in hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage to one of its depots in Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham, on Bonfire Night.
The company says it is still able to offer full handling, dispatch and storage to its customers, despite the lire, which affected 2000 pallets and also damaged an unloading truck.
It took 12 fire engines to bring the fire, which started on Friday (5 November), under control by Monday (8 November).
MD Paul Stiller tells CM: "Thorough training and preparation allowed the staff to conduct a textbook evacuation. 1 am vet), proud of my people who dealt with this incident with absolute professionalism."
He adds: "I can confirm that there were no injuries. All other areas of the site are functioning with full handling, dispatch and storage capabilities."
Tony Gruffertv, group manager of County Durham and Darlingon Fire Authority, says: "The explosions that were heard were aerosols popping. It is a big site and there were 7,000 pallets in the one storage area that also had Ionics unloading in it,
—there was a truck delivering at the time that was damaged in the incident. It has resulted in hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage."
He adds that the incident was not being treated as suspicious and that the Health and Safety Executive, alongside police and fire forensics, is investigating the cause of the fire.
"Stiller is working hard to fulfil orders for customers. It has caused problems in terms of rolling stock, but Stiller is still able to receive fresh stock," Gnifferty adds.