RESIDENTS were told to stay in their homes when a chemical fire broke out in Radcliffe.

Fire crews were called to Ferrari Electroplating, in Bury Road, at 8.45pm last Wednesday when a vat containing 2,500 litres of copper sulphate set alight.

Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and gas-tight suits went into the building to isolate the electricity supply before work started to tackle the blaze.

They were then joined by up to 30 firefighters who put out the blaze and ventilated the building to remove the fumes.

Crews from Bury, Whitefield and Farnworth fire stations, along with an operational support unit from Atherton, worked at the scene for three hours.

People living nearby were informed of the fire and given advice to stay indoors to protect them from any toxic fumes. Craig Pinder, watch commander at Whitefield fire station, said: “Because of the nature of the fire, we treated it as a hazardous material incident. We cordoned off the area and informed residents to stay indoors with their windows and doors shut.

“Thankfully it was a relatively small fire and we managed to contain it. The building stayed intact.”

Residents in Bury Road watched from their windows as fire crews descended on the area to tackle the fire.

Audrey Lowe, aged 66, said: “There were lots of fire engines and ambulances here. It was really scary. I was worried about my grandchildren because they were asleep in bed. The firefighters told me there were chemicals involved.”

Hayley Walsh, aged 32, said: “I went out to ask if we would be evacuated, but the firemen said everything was under control. I was really worried about it though and stayed awake until midnight when they started clearing everything away.”

John Orton, aged 68, said: “There was a lot of activity and there were fire engines everywhere. They seemed to be pumping a lot of water into the factory. Ambulances were queueing up to the bottom of the road.”

The cause of the fire is now under investigation.

No-one was in the building when it broke out and the fire service do not believe it was started deliberately.