Fire crews tackle Ryvita factory compactor blaze

The emergency services were called at 8.12am to attend the fire, which started in a single-storey building. The fire had been extinguished by 9.29am.

A spokeswoman for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service told Food Manufacture​ that six fire crews attended the scene – three from Poole, one each from Westbourne, Redhill Park and Ferndown – together with an aerial ladder platform from Westbourne and a support unit from Hamworthy.

Fire now extinguished​

The spokeswoman said: “The stop came at 9.29am, to confirm the fire had been extinguished by the use of four breathing apparatus wearers and a hose reel jet.​

“We also moved a number of other compactor units to improve access and prevent fire spread.”​

Fire crews have now left the factory, which is dedicated to Ryvita production. A spokesman for parent company Associated British Foods told Food Manufacture​ that production was unaffected.

He said: “Fire services were called to our site in Poole earlier today, when we experienced light smouldering in a food compactor. The incident was quickly dealt with and production at the site is up and running as usual.”​

First produced in 1925​

Taking inspiration from crunchy rye breads from Sweden, Ryvita was first produced in Poole by John Edwin Garratt in 1925. The current factory was opened in 1949 and underwent two expansions in the 1970s. ABF merged Ryvita with Jordans in 2008.

Meanwhile, in May, fire crews quelled a fire at Addo Food Group’s Market Drayton-based Palethorpes Bakery unit​​ on Maer Lane.

And in April, fire fighters attended an incident at Walkers Snack Foods’ Leicester site​​ after a fire broke out in an oven.