The owner of a Highbridge food business has spoken of his devastation after a major fire tore through his unit at Oaktree Business Park on Monday morning (May 18th), destroying the premises and halting production.
Eight fire crews from Burnham‑On‑Sea, Taunton, Bridgwater, Glastonbury, Street, Cheddar and Martock were called to the scene at around 8.50am after thick plumes of smoke were seen rising from the industrial estate. The building was quickly evacuated and, despite the scale of the blaze, no injuries were reported.
Alec Chick, owner of The Scotch Egg Company which also trades as Chickies Scotch Eggs, said the fire had been “catastrophic,” wiping out the unit where thousands of scotch eggs are normally produced each week. Two neighbouring units also suffered smoke damage, but firefighters managed to prevent the flames from spreading.
“It’s been a devastating morning for us,” said Alec. “The fire spread quickly, but I am so grateful for the support of our neighbours and the amazing fire crews for preventing it spreading further. This is a huge blow, but the community response has meant a lot.”
A fire spokesperson added: “We had seven appliances and an aerial ladder platform in attendance at a fire at an industrial unit on Bristol Road, Highbridge.”
“The building was well alight and crews and made progress using compressed air foam, hose reel jets, safety jets and breathing apparatus.”
“The building was evacuated, and all persons were accounted for. We were assisted by two appliances from Avon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.”
“This building consisted of 8 industrial units. One unit was 100 per cent destroyed by fire, and 2 further units 50 per cent damaged by smoke,” says the fire service spokesman.
They added that the cause of the fire is under investigation and is believed to have started accidentally with cooking oil.
