This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Firefighters have captured the moment a “firenado”, or a fire whirl, tore through a plastics factory in Derbyshire. They released footage of the fire showing it reaching a height of more than 15 metres (50ft).

Officers had been tackling the blaze, at Ravensbourn Plastics, Occupation Lane, in Albert Village, Swadlincote, since about 1.20am on Tuesday.

The fire had also spread to another building on the site and a number of forklift trucks at the property, Derbyshire fire and rescue service said.

Firefighters were joined by colleagues from other counties as they tried to prevent the fire spreading. They started damping down the fire at about 3pm. The blaze affected stacked plastic pallets ordinarily used for making crates for supermarkets.

No injuries were reported but a huge black smoke cloud could be seen as far as Shepshed, in Leicestershire, and Nottingham city centre.

Leicestershire fire and rescue service shared the video on Facebook, saying: “While we were firefighting at Occupational Lane we witnessed a firenado or a fire whirl. It’s created as cool air enters the top of the hot air causing a swirl similar to how a tornado is formed.”

The Derbyshire service’s group manager, Steve Wells, said: “We’ve received lots of calls to our control room this morning, as people in the Swadlincote area have woken to the sight of a large black smoke plume.

“Crews from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire have been working hard since the early hours of the morning, jointly with partners from the police, Seven Trent Water and the Environment Agency, to bring the fire under control, prevent any further spread and bring the incident to a safe and swift conclusion.

“While the site of the fire is not directly next to any residential properties, we are still advising locals to keep their windows and doors closed until the fire is completely out and the smoke has subsided.”