Amazon warehouse fire in Rugeley ‘targeted by arsonists’ as cops probe suspicious blaze weeks before Christmas
Staffordshire fire brigade said Saturday's warehouse blaze in Rugeley was 'most likely started deliberately'
ARSONISTS are suspected of starting a devastating fire at an Amazon distribution centre weeks before Christmas.
Staffordshire fire brigade said Saturday's warehouse blaze in Rugeley was "most likely started deliberately".
The fire broke out shortly after midday on the third floor of the depot and spread to the fourth floor, causing serious damage.
Staff were evacuated as the 700,000 sq ft warehouse filled with thick smoke from burning stock.
It is not yet known how it will affect Christmas deliveries or the Black Friday flash sales due to begin next week.
The fire service said the blaze "involved a large amount of goods which were well alight when the crews arrived."
Ten firefighters in breathing apparatus went in to tackle the fire, which left "a large amount of the goods inside the property seriously damaged by fire, heat and smoke".
Sprinklers stopped flames from spreading further, chiefs said.
Station Manager Carl Mason said: “This was quite a large scale incident which took several hours to deal with due to the type of materials inside the building and the level of smoke logging which took significant time to ventilate.
"The blaze has left the building seriously damaged but fortunately everyone inside was safely evacuated and no one was injured."
He added: “It is very concerning that this fire seems to have been deliberate as large scale incident such as this take up a lot of time and resources.
"We will continue to work closely with Staffordshire Police on their ongoing investigation into the incident.”
Staffordshire Police said: "An investigation is underway after colleagues from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service determined a fire at a warehouse in Rugeley may have been caused deliberately.
"Anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity is asked to call us on 101 referring to incident 349 of November 4."
Amazon said it was working with the police and would always seek prosecution of anyone involved in criminality.
The Rugeley depot reopened on Monday. It is one of 16 fulfilment centres in the UK, and the retail giant said it would minimise any disruption to customers.
Saturday's blaze came almost exactly a year after the same warehouse was torched in a suspected arson attack on November 13, 2016.
Around 1,100 workers were evacuated as the blaze tore through the first and second floors at 2am.
Amazon was forced to pull some items from sale following the blaze, the second at the depot in less than a week after smaller fire was extinguished days earlier.
In August this year six staff members were arrested on suspicion of stealing goods worth a reported £250,000 from the Rugeley depot.
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