Appeal for witnesses following major fire

Police and the Fire Service had to tackle a major fire in the Southway area of Plymouth on Monday night.

Police received reports of a fire at the disused Paper Converting Machine Factory in Southway at around 9.30pm on Monday 27th July.

A joint services operation between police, fire service and local authority Civil Protection Department was launched in response to the fire.

Several roads in and around Southway were closed as a protective cordon was set up. Local residents were allowed to return to their properties and were escorted back to their homes along safe routes by foot.

No residents were evacuated, however the public were advised to avoid the area, asked to keep their windows closed and to stay indoors as the blaze was being brought under control. Road closures were lifted at around 3am.

Fire continue to remain in the area and the incident is currently being treated as unexplained. A full investigation is expected to launched once the building has been made safe.

Detective Inspector Jon Bancroft said: “We’ve had early reports from members of the public of two people seen running from the area once the fire had started. We are keen to speak to these two as potential witnesses to the fire. 

“We would like to hear from anyone who was in the area last night who may have witnessed anything strange. We are sending a number of Officers and PCSO’s to the area and we are encouraging the public to pop down and speak to us in person if they any information they wish to share that can help us with our investigation.

“You can also contact us on 101 quoting log 804 of the 27th July.”