A worker who raised the alarm at Norbert Dentressangle told the Journal how the fire quickly took hold at the factory.
Engineering operator Ian De’ath said the fire had spread through three empty cold storage units at the Easton site south of Grantham and was threatening a fourth where pet foods were held.
Mr De’ath said: “I saw flames coming out of the side of number three cold storage and it took hold really quickly. The concern was the ammonia there and all the electrics. There were three of us who turned everything off.”
Mr De’ath said he believe more than 100 people were evacuated from Nobert Dentressangle. A spokesman for the PAS frozen food factory, which is next to the Norbert site, said everyone had been evacuated and accounted for.
Norbert Dentressangle engineer Glenn Marples said: “There was a radio call came through asking us to call the fire brigade. It looks like it started in a truck, but it was near the battery room for the forklift trucks and then everyone was quickly evacuated. We were all out in a couple of minutes. We could see the flames coming out of the roof and there was lots and lots of smoke. The cold stores are all linked by a passageway and it could spread through to the new one.”
Rafal Ulanski, who has worked at Norbert Dentressangle for two years, said: “It started around the most dangerous place, the battery room. It was the worst place for a fire to start. I was near the battery room and saw the fire, but my first impression was that it did not look too dangerous because it was behind a closed door.”