A fire which burned for almost three days has all but destroyed a large self-storage facility in Burscough, Lancashire.

At its height around 80 firefighters tackled the blaze at the 50m x 50m Abacus self storage facility. According to Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, the single storey panel construction of the building meant that crews fought the fire from the outside only, because of fears of the building collapsing.

Local residents were evacuated from surrounding properties because of thick black smoke from the fire.

Fire crews were called to the blaze soon after 8.00pm on Tuesday 16 November, but it was not brought under control until around 3.00am the next day. Damping down and monitoring of hotspots continued for the next two days.

Other factors hampering firefighting operations included a lack of information on the contents of the self-storage units – which are believed to have been a mix of commercial and domestic items – and reports of asbestos in the roof.

An urban search and rescue team was also deployed to help shore up parts of the building and provide lighting.

Water from a nearby canal was used to tackle the blaze, with some of the run-off water being recycled for further firefighting use.

Speaking to the Ormskirk & West Lancashire Champion, Barry Sutcliffe, watch manager at Ormskirk fire station, said:

“It was one of the biggest incidents of the year. We had to use several ground monitors, an aerial monitor and an aerial ladder platform to deal with the incident.”

An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway, though it is not thought to be suspicious at this stage.