Key Events
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Firefighters are still at the scene of the mill fire in Batley, working on dampening the scene.
Click the key events above for a recap of today’s fire, or scroll down through the liveblog.
Statement from fire service
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Area Manager Nick Smith, who attended today’s Batley mill fire, has praised firefighters for their quick and effective response to tackling the large blaze.
He said: “This was a mill building used predominantly for textiles and when crews arrived the building was well alight, with the fire spreading quickly. Firefighters worked in very difficult, windy conditions to prevent the very real danger of the fire spreading to neighbouring buildings. The mill was also at risk of collapse, which posed further difficulties for firefighter safety.
“Crews quickly evacuated people from nearby properties and contained the fire. It was a tremendous effort from all firefighters, who made the lives of nearby people their priority, and I applaud their quick thinking and hard work.”
He added: “Crews were aware that the water supply in the immediate area around Greenhill Mills, Batley, was not sufficient for the scale and seriousness of the fire, therefore they had to find hydrants further afield to tackle the fire. This is quite common when dealing with fires of this scale.”
Problems
We’re waiting for West Yorkshire Fire Service to provide a full statement on the blaze but we understand there were a number of problems and it was a difficult and hazardous operation.
The fire chief is expected to praise the fire crews involved for their efforts in bringing the blaze under control.
We reported concerns earlier about trouble in finding sufficient water but apparently that’s not unusual in certain locations.
Tackling blaze
Here’s some video by Del Delap showing firefighters at work earlier tackling the blaze
Mill 'rapdily went up in flames'
Our reporter Robert has spoken to John Barraclough, Johnny Beverley and Lucas Makuch who work for Sampling International at Batley Business Park.
About 11.30 they decided to have an early lunch and as they were walking past Greenhill Mills they saw smoke coming from the exit doors and there were people being evacuated.
There were three fire engines at that stage and the mill rapidly went up in flames. Some explosions were also reported, thought to be gas cylinders.
Update from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue:
The fire at Greenhill Mills is under control and we are now scaling back. One large jet is now in use.
Mill looks 'completely gutted'
According to our reporter Robert Sutcliffe the mill looks to be completely gutted.
Damping down continues and there’s still smoke and steam rising.
Grange Road remains closed but there is access via Hanging Heaton.
Smoke seen from Upper Batley
Shelly Crawshaw could see the smoke from her home in Upper Batley earlier
Recap in video:
Here’s a round up of the videos sent to us from the scene of the blaze:
Credit: Twitter/@imassageuk
Credit: Al Mubarak Radio
Fire appears to be 'under control'
Photo-journalist Ash Milnes tells us that it appears the fire is under control. Water to fight the fire seems to have been a big problem.We’ll investigate this. It’s an important commercial and business centre with lots of firms and offices around.
Video
Al Mubarak Radio took this video earlier - but they say the scene seems much calmer now