A BLAZE in an old mill at Westhoughton could have turned into a major disaster.

Part of the building at Glebe Mill behind Westhoughton Town Hall was being used to store propane gas cylinders and firefighters had to create a barrier to stop last night's fire spreading.

"There was a very great risk of these cylinders going up and then we would have been talking about a disaster," said Atherton station officer Kenneth Regent.

"The firemen were absolutely superb and put their necks on the line in getting it under control."

The fire started about 5pm in a unit owned by Kayle Properties for storage which included rolls of paper.

Five pumps from Atherton, Bolton and Hindley were called out.

At the height of the fire flames as high as 30 to 40 feet leapt from the roof, as a huge crowd watched from nearby houses.

Crews from Hindley using breathing apparatus got into the building from another side to prevent the fire spreading to the premises of Malrod Insulation Ltd where the cylinders were stored and a barrier of water was created. Firemen had to concentrate one of the jets on part of a wall which was in danger of collapsing.

Once the blaze was under control the firemen used a positive pressure ventilator fan which they have on trial at the moment to get rid of the fumes.

Two fire engines stayed at the scene all night. The cause of the fire is not yet known and firemen are still investigating. The building where the fire started was wrecked.

Marianne Kay, 14, of Bolton Road, said: There was sparks and pieces of wood flying all over the place. At 10pm it was still smoking."

Her mother, Ann Marie Kay, said there was always a lot of rubbish in the lane and children were always lighting fires.

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