Oldham fire: Firefighters evacuate 100 properties near paper mill blaze

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service say 70 firefighters and 15 vehicles tackle inferno

Greater Manchester firemen tackling the blaze (Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service/PA)

Emergency services were evacuating around 100 nearby properties after a large blaze broke out at a paper mill site in Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said about 70 firefighters and 15 vehicles were tackling the fire at the building on Cardwell Street in Oldham, north-east of Manchester.

Fire officer Lee Smart said residents affected by the major incident were being evacuated to the Honeywell Centre and urged others still in their homes to keep their windows and doors closed.

Firefighters have not entered the building and are currently attacking the blaze from the outside, the fire service said.

A video tweeted on the fire service's official account showed plumes of smoke and large flames rising from the structure.

It is understood this is the second recent blaze to break out at the mill, with the five-storey site also reportedly suffering major damage in late September.

The fire service said crews were trying to extinguish the inferno “from all angles”, with firefighters using hoses from outside the building's perimeter in a bid to put it out.

The North West Ambulance Service was also on the scene, it said.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police told the Press Association it was “far too early to say” if the blaze was suspicious and confirmed it was burning at the old Maple Mill site.

PA