Fire tackled at celebration cake factory

Nightshift workers were evacuated after a member of staff raised the fire alarm. The fire started in a cupboard, and was nowhere near production lines, claimed Lightbody – which is part of the Finsbury Food Group.

Fire crews from Hamilton and Coatbridge, Scotland attacked the blaze, and the cause of the fire was currently under investigation, said a spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Services.

“At 3.52am on Monday ​[November 28], the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended a fire at a food manufacturing plant on Bothwell Road, Hamilton,”​ said the spokesman. “The alert was raised by a member of staff who noticed smoke.​

Powerful water jets​

“Crews tackled the blaze with powerful water jets. The building had already been evacuated – there were no casualties. After ensuring the area had been made safe, firefighters left the scene at around 4pm.”​

Lightbody – which makes celebration cakes under licenses from Disney, Universal, Weight Watchers and Thorntons – said the “small”​ fire was quickly brought under control. The blaze didn’t disrupt food production, it claimed.

A Lightbody spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that at 4am on Monday a small fire broke out at the group’s Hamilton site, which was quickly brought under control. ​

“The fire was contained to the immediate area around the hygiene store and no employees were injured. This is not an area where production takes place and, as a result, the fire did not affect or disrupt food production areas.”​

Lightbody’s top priority​

The safety and wellbeing of staff is Lightbody’s top priority, the cake maker claimed. It had a number of “robust systems of processes and alert systems”​ to ensure staff safety.

“At the time of the incident the site’s fire alarm systems immediately activated and business contingency systems worked as planned,” ​the Lightbody spokeswoman said.

“All of the company’s fire and safety systems are regularly tested to ensure they meet the highest standards, and are independently verified.”​

Meanwhile, the blaze at a food processing plant in Bradford was confirmed as an arson attack​ last month. Six fire engines and one aerial platform were needed to put out the fire at fast food chain Mahmoods’ processing facility.