Firefighters called to blaze in machinery at Northamptonshire flour mill

More than 30 firefighters were called to a blaze in machinery at Heygates flour mill near Northampton on Thursday afternoon.

Six crews from across the county took around five hours to make sure the mill was safe before scaling down the incident at around 2pm in Bugbrooke.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue said: "The fire was in an extraction system. All staff were safely evacuated nobody was hurt."

The 450-year-old family-run business employs over 900 staff with mills producing flour for breads, cakes, pizzas, burger buns, chapattis, biscuits and more besides, supplying large manufacturing plants, in-store supermarket bakeries and craft bakers.

The current site at Bugbrooke was built in 1942 — replacing one which was destroyed by fire.

Director of Operations Rob Heygates said: "A dust collector in a machine caught fire but the fire was contained very quickly. Everybody got out safely and we were back up and running by 9pm.

"We are clearing up a bit of water but there's minimal damage and no loss of production.

"The fire crews were really quick getting things under control and I'd like to express my thanks to them for everything they do."

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