Published at 16:13, Thursday, 06 December 2012

QUICK-THINKING firefighters “averted disaster” when they went to put out a blaze at a West Cumbrian tourist attraction.

A fire crew from Seascale was first on the scene when a building caught fire at the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway at 4.40pm on Tuesday.

Colin Wilson, a watch manager from Workington, said the workshop at Ravenglass Station, which is used as a paint shop, was well alight when they arrived. He said the firefighters sprayed water on two nearby tanks of fuel to cool them down and stop them exploding.

“The first crew from Seascale pulled up and the building was alight, but it had two kerosene tanks by it with approximately 500 litres in each tank,” he said.

“It was quick thinking by the first crew manager to spray a cover jet on the tanks and avert disaster, really.”

The Seascale crew was joined by firefighters from Bootle and managed to bring the blaze under control in about an hour-and-a-half, he said.

“The building will be OK, it was just a lot of the stuff inside that caught fire.

“From our point of view it went really well, especially the quick thinking of the first manager on the scene,” said Mr Wilson.

Trevor Stockton, Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway general manager, said he was grateful to the firefighters for their help.

The fire, which was contained within the building, may have been the result of an electrical fault in the building, which is used to paint locomotives and rolling stock.

An early inspection revealed there was limited damage to the contents of the building.

Mr Stockton said: “We are really grateful to the fire crews for their prompt and efficient action.

“December is a busy month for us with Santa specials and these will go ahead as planned, with no changes to the arrangements.

“We have almost sold out tickets to travel up the line to Dalegarth to see Santa over the coming weeks and we will be sure not to disappoint any young people who really look forward to this experience at this time of year.”

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