Firefighters from across the Bradford district were called to tackle a ferocious blaze which gutted a derelict Keighley mill last night.

As the blaze engulfed the four-storey mill, in Mill Lane, Oakworth, firefighters were forced to carry vital equipment across fields and over walls to reach the secluded building and battled to protect surrounding houses from the fire.

At the height of the blaze, 70 firefighters and 13 fire engines from as far away as Rawdon and Halifax attended and flames could be seen shooting into the sky for miles around.

The alarm was raised shortly after 8pm yesterday when a member of the public rang Keighley fire station. Two fire engines were sent but quickly called for reinforcements when the extent of the fire became apparent.

Firefighter Joe O'Keeffe, one of the first on the scene, said that the mill was in constant danger of collapse, making it hard for firefighters to tackle.

He said: "It was a ferocious fire. The third and fourth floors were well alight when we got there and we realised that we had to call for reinforcements. There were flames coming through the roof of the building. It was a major fire.

"There's only a little track running down to the mill which made it hard to get to. There were signs up saying 'danger - keep out' so we had to be careful and fight it from the outside.

"We had to carry equipment over walls and across fields to reach the mill.

"Our main priority was protecting the surrounding properties. The mill was next to stone cottages on two sides and some other housing on the third.

"But the lads did a very good job. It was a lot of hard work but we managed to prevent the fire spreading.

"The mill is very extensively damaged."

No-one was hurt in the incident but the cause of the fire is still under investigation and is thought to be suspicious.

Fire crews from Batley travelled to Bradford during the night to cover for officers called to Keighley to tackle the blaze.

e-mail:

ian.midgley@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.