AN 'INTENSE' blaze, believed to be arson, caused severe damage at a former factory.

The fire at the one-time textiles industrial building, in Accrington, happened at around 5pm yesterday.

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Witnesses reported seeing flames coming from the windows of the building in Stevenson Street East and hearing the windows crack because of the heat.

As the crews were 'damping down' after tackling the flames, they came across 'several' glass bottles which had cracked and were believed to contain 'unknown chemicals'.

Hazardous materials experts were drafted in to make sure there was no danger to the firefighters or the residents living on the opposite side of the street.

A cordon was also put in place stopping vehicles from driving up and down the street.

Sally Meek, who lives in Stevenson Street East, said: "Somebody knocked on my door and said the factory was on fire and that I needed to move my car.

"I was just shocked. The fire was intense and when I came to the door it was blazing.

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"The windows were cracking too. It was quite worrying."

Ilyas Khan, a maintenance worker, who also lives in the street, added: "It is quite scary because my family was at home."

The building housed the former Textile Mouldings Limited, which closed down around five years ago.

Crew manager Tony Spencer said: "On arrival, we found fire breaking through three windows. Four firefighters in breathing apparatus entered the property to extinguish the fire.

"On damping down, we found that some of the building had been used in the past as a laboratory for the company that was here before. We found several bottles of unknown chemicals that were fractured and were on the floor.

"We are investigating, but we think the fire was deliberate."

The fire crews were pulled out of the building once the blaze was out in case there were any risks to health and safety and they were made to put their uniforms in plastic bags for decontamination.

Group manager Mark Hutton said there was no risk to those living nearby.

He said: "We fought the fire externally and we will be gathering information about the materials in the building.

"I want to reassure the public that beyond the building, there is no hazard.

"Parents in the local area should ensure that their children are not playing in disused buildings. There is a danger from the building itself, but there can also be other things within them."