Business as usual after major plant fire
The central alarm board alerted security at around 10am and a member of the security staff responded
AN assessment is being made as to the cost of damage and loss caused when a section of the administration block at Bell Equipment’s Alton premises went up in flames on Sunday morning.
The central alarm board alerted security at around 10am and a member of the security staff responded.
On seeing the flames he attempted to contact the fire department but could not reach them on the number he was dialling.
Showing great initiative, he drove to the nearby fire station and they quickly arrived on scene to prevent the blaze spreading from the six open plan offices to adjoining offices and the upper floor of the administration block.
The cause of the fire is still to be determined.
‘As cleaning takes place, structural engineers are evaluating the building and some cautionary actions have been taken to ensure stability of the upper floor, which has been deemed fit for use,’ said director of group marketing, alliances and dealers, Stephen Jones.
‘Loss adjusters are on site and repairs, which could take two months to complete, will commence next week.’
With the plant having been closed for the annual shutdown, when employees return to work next week it will be ‘business as usual’ as no documents or essential information were lost in the fire with everything saved and backed up on multiple servers and the cloud.
‘We have managed to relocate all staff affected on site and our computer systems are fully functional,’ said Jones.
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