| A joint fire investigation was under way at the Wound Magnetics factory at Dundee Technology Park this morning following what was described as an “extremely challenging” blaze at the site early today.
The plant was sealed off by police in the aftermath of the fire and shocked staff arriving for work this morning were advised to go home and report back on Monday.
The company, which manufactures components for the defence and aerospace industries, has been having difficulties in recent months and had been placed into administration.
It was announced in May that the business had been taken over as a going concern by ETAL (UK) Ltd and staff were last week informed there were likely to be job losses amongst the 41-strong workforce.
A Tayside Police spokesman confirmed the fire was being treated as malicious and appealed for witnesses to come forward.
He said, “The fire is being treated as suspicious and Tayside Police are launching a joint investigation with Tayside Fire and Rescue to establish the full set of circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Fire group manager Stewart Edgar said the blaze had been difficult to tackle as he paid tribute to the efforts of crew members.
At the height of the incident, five appliances, an aerial ladder platform, command support unit and breathing apparatus support unit were sent to the scene.
Mr Edgar said, “The fire was very difficult to fight. The layout of the building is quite complex so firefighters had to work hard to identify where the fire was and extinguish it.
“To dissipate the smoke we had to cut a hole in the roof because obviously the mechanical ventilation of the premises wasn’t working as the power was off.
“As far as things go, this was a really challenging situation.
“The firefighters had to penetrate deep within the building and deal with the heat and the deep black smoke.
“A lot of breathing apparatus crews went in there last night to deal with the fire. They were really punished last night but they did an excellent job.”
Wound Magnetics commercial manager Gordon Dunbar said today he had spent the night at the factory after being called out by the fire service as a keyholder of the premises.
He said, “I was called out at approximately 10 to one. There were a lot of fire crews present when I got here and I have been here ever since.
“We are waiting for the people (from the emergency services) to come back and do an investigation and allow us access to the premises.
“The staff have been sent away for the day and advised to come back on Monday unless they hear otherwise.”
The Tele asked Mr Dunbar if there was an ongoing risk of redundancies at the factory. He confirmed there was, but declined to give further details.
A spokesman for ETAL Group, whose British subsidiary ETAL (UK) Ltd now owns the factory, said the extent of damage caused by the fire was not known.
Dan Phelan said, “There was a fire and nobody has been allowed in as the area has been sealed up. As yet we have no idea what happened.
“The fire people put the fire out and the police have secured that part of the estate and are not letting anyone into the building.”
Mr Phelan also confirmed that employees had been informed of possible job losses last week.
He said, “Letters issued last week in accordance with employment law were sent to employees warning of potential redundancies. This is potential and nobody has been made redundant.”
The Tele contacted workers union Unite today but had not received any comment at the time of going to press. |
