Pictures posted by police show the aftermath of a fire in Stanton that ripped through a business. The incident is being treated as 'deliberate' following an investigation by Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, and police have said three to four youths were spotted in the area at the time.
Residents reported seeing flames and smoke plumes rising in the area of Stanton-by-Dale on the evening of Tuesday, April 12. Derbyshire Fire and Rescue were called to attend the blaze in the disused building at 4.21pm.
It began at PAM Saint Gobain, an iron supplier, and crews managed to get the flames under control by around 11pm. Lows Lane in the village was closed while firefighters tackled the blaze.
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An investigation concluded the fire was started 'deliberately', and Derbyshire Police are now investigating the incident. A Tweet from Erewash Response said: "Three to four youths were seen to be laughing and running away towards Seven Oaks Road as the incident started; if you have any information, please let us know."
Residents described seeing smoke and flames at the time. Some said it was a regular occurrence.
Raymond Carnell, 93, a retired lorry driver living opposite the site of the fire, said: "It was all panic stations. There were six fire engines I saw and jet black smoke blocked the road. But the wind then blew it over the houses so it didn’t affect me much.
"There were lorries parked out the front and all, I don't know what’s happened to them. This has happened a few times round here."
Mr and Mrs Brown of Quarry Hill, said they spotted the plumes of smoke out their window after having their tea. Mr Brown, 61, who has lived in the area for 20 years, said: "It was quite instantaneous, jet black smoke. It was quite intense.
"We had just had our tea and then looked out the window and thought 'blimey'." They added that fires were quite a regular occurrence in the area.
A resident of Littlewell Lane, next to the cordon, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "It was about half past 5 and we were doing tea and we saw a bit of smoke.
"I looked out the back window and there were some flames. It looked like a decent sized fire. It was a bit of a shock."
