Baldock fire: More than 40 industrial units destroyed in blaze

More than 40 units were destroyed in a major fire that ripped through an industrial estate in a market town.

Crews were sent to Baldock Industrial Estate off London Road in the town at about 18:15 BST on Tuesday.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident after the blaze rapidly developed - but said it was now out.

A meeting has been planned to provide support to people affected.

The fire service said a "bad smell" might remain in the air for some time, but it was not "considered harmful to health".

An investigation into the cause had started and it was "likely to take some time", the service said.

The meeting will be held at Baldock Community Centre between 14:00 and 15:30 on Thursday, hosted by Hertfordshire County Council, North Herts Council and Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

Labour councillor Elizabeth Dennis, leader of North Herts Council, said: "The fire has had a devastating impact on local businesses and workers.

"We will do everything we can to help the Baldock Industrial Estate community."

Sir Oliver Heald, the Conservative MP for North East Hertfordshire, praised the fire service, police and farmers who brought in extra water.

"It's been a very big shock," he said. "Forty three industrial units have been destroyed."

He said he had spoken to some of the affected businesses and contacted the Association of British Insurers to ask them to "make sure their members are as quick as possible at dealing with these claims".

A brand new nightclub due to open on the site had been lost, he added.

"For the business people its really, really bad and we've just got to try and help them," Sir Oliver said.

"This is a town with a lot of spirit and we're all working together and we will have to find a way through."

Area Commander Darren Cook said more than 20 fire appliances were on scene tackling the fire, smoke and traffic at the height of the blaze.

"It was very difficult to deal with, the crews worked exceedingly hard," he said.

Nick Powell, who lives close by, said: "There is a sense of shock in the community, it is a small community Baldock, it's not a town that's massive, with huge big brand names.

"The local [independent] businesses are very small and hopefully they can continue and restart as it does look like a lot of those will be desecrated by this."

The blaze was close to the town's Tesco supermarket, which was also evacuated.

Residents were asked to keep their windows closed due to the large amount of smoke, and some lost power and water supplies.

Car care company, Marsh Detailing, said in a Facebook post that they were "trying to process what has happened and come to terms with losing everything we've worked so hard to get".

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