A fire at a derelict building in Exeter was believed to have been started deliberately. An area of the city was sealed off on Friday following the blaze at a waste factory on Water Lane.
Police and firefighters were first called at 4am and the area was cordoned off. Police said the cause of the fire, which didn't injure anyone, was "unexplained" and launched an appeal for witnesses.
A spokesperson said: "Officers were called to assist the fire service with a building fire in Canal Banks at around 5am today [26 January]. The cause of the fire is unexplained but may be suspicious.
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"The area has been cordoned off whilst emergency services are in attendance. Anyone with information which may assist enquiries is asked to contact 101 quoting log 102 of 26 January."
A fire service spokesperson confirmed that the cause of the fire was believed to be suspicious. A spokesperson said: "We were called just after 4am to a fire in a single-storey derelict building close to the incinerator/old glue factory on Water Lane, Exeter.
"Five fire appliances plus special appliances attended initially and extinguished the fire using four large water jets, three main jets, three hose reel jets and an aerial ladder platform was used as a water tower fed from the nearby canal. No injuries were reported but we believe the fire was started deliberately."
An eyewitness told DevonLive: "It is normally a working factory for animal byproducts, but it is cordoned off by police and forensics with sniffer dogs and burned down building inside the property."
Updates on this incident continue here.
