A textile company boss has spoken of his relief that a blaze which gutted trailers at his mill in Clayton West did not spread to the main building.
Charles Mosley, joint managing director of Phoenox Textiles in Spring Grove, said although the fire – which could be seen for miles around – looked ‘horrendous’, it could actually have been a lot worse.
Huddersfield firefighters were called at around 8.30pm on Wednesday and immediately called in additional crews to tackle two lorry trailers which were fully ablaze. There was at least one large explosion, thought to be caused by tyres bursting in the intense heat.
Mr Mosley, who runs the company with his brother Adrian, said: “A lot of people know myself and my brother and I got a text from someone saying our building was on fire.
“I phoned the fire brigade and raced up there from Wetherby and could see the smoke from some distance away and my heart just sank.
“When I arrived firefighters were already there and that’s when I heard an explosion.
“But although it was a big fire when I got closer I could see it was contained to trailer lorries parked in our service yard and not the main building which was actually a massive relief.
“It is still horrendous but we are open as usual today (Thurs). It’s a setback but could have been a lot worse. We were lucky it was a calm night. If the wind had been blowing it could have spread.
“Our staff have been fantastic and a number of them helped move other vehicles as a precaution.”
Mr Mosley said he had also been overwhelmed by the support and genuine concern from the community to what could have been a devastating blow to the family-run firm which has been in the village since 1954.
He added: “A lot of people came out to see if they could help, they weren’t just wanting to know what was going on.
“We are a part of the community and that has really come to the front last night and today.”
The company is now awaiting assessors from their insurance company to determine the cost of the damage.
Phoenox Textiles employs a 90-strong workforce to make and manufacture high quality carpets, rugs, bathroom floor mats and entrance mats which are exported all over the world.
