Updated Friday, April 1, 2011
Following yesterday’s fire at a business premises on Church Lane, Ackton, local residents are now being allowed back into their homes following a 24-hour evacuation.
All roads in the area have been reopened and the exclusion zone has been lifted.
Police and the fire service are still conducting enquiries to establish how the fire started.
The police would like to thank the local community for their patience during these challenging circumstances.
—————————————————————————————
At about 5.30pm this evening (31 March 2011), police were called to a fire at a commercial premises on Church Lane, Ackton.
Two men were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Due to public safety concerns, around 100 local residents have been evacuated from their homes and will be staying in alternative accommodation overnight due to highly flammable acetylene gas cylinders being stored in the garage.
Road closures are in place on Ackton Road to the junction Fairfax Avenue and Willow Lane up to the junction with Church Lane and drivers are advised to avoid the area for the next 24 hours.
Police continue to work with the West Yorkshire Fire Service, the Highways Agency and the Emergency Planning Team at the Local Authority to ensure any disruption is kept as minimal as possible and the incident is dealt with efficiently.
In a separate incident a car was damaged in an explosion which is believed to have been caused by a large firework. At about 1am today (31 March 2011), officers were called to Whitehall Road, New Farnley, where a Mercedes A-Class car had been damaged while parked outside an address in the vicinity of the junction with Wood Lane. The front end of the car was extensively damaged by the explosion.
