Wood company's shed roof collapses in blaze (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Liversedge wood company's shed roof collapses in blaze

7:00am Thursday 7th March 2013 in News By Julie Tickner, T&A Reporter

A timber yard’s shed roof collapsed during a late-night fire which destroyed wood stored in it.

But staff at Howarth Timber in Liversedge have not been able to get inside the wooden-framed building to see how much stock was lost in the blaze as it at risk of further collapse.

Manager Phil Barman yesterday had to cut short a three-day trip to a London exhibition to deal with fire investigators and insurers.

“We’ve had to keep the yard shut and serve customers from afar because we’ve not been able to allow them into part of the yard, but we’re muddling through,” he said.

Mr Barman said about a third of the roof had collapsed.

“It’s not what I was expecting to see. They said there was a fire, but I didn’t expect the roof to be in such a state.

“A lot of it was hardwood, which burns slowly, so we think the fire could have been going for a few hours before anyone noticed.

“We don’t yet know if there’s been water damage when the fire service has been doing its job. With our products, water damage is just as bad. It happened and we’ve got to get on with it,” he said.

Some of the stock was due to be used for orders, but Mr Barman said the company would order more wood, rather than let down customers.

Firefighters were called at about 11.30pm on Tuesday to the site at Park Works, Hare Park Lane, Liversedge. They spent two and a half hours at the scene.

Two trucks were also inside the shed, but not damaged in the fire, which Cleckheaton Watch Commander Aldene Woodward said destroyed about ten per cent of the structure.

She said a cement asbestos roof made tackling the blaze more difficult, but the fire did not spread.

Yesterday morning fire investigators were at the building which had been sealed off as part of the roof had collapsed onto damaged stock, but they cannot yet say what caused the blaze which police also attended.

No-one was injured.