Failed Sprinkler System Faulted in Distribution Center Blaze

A burst in water pipes supplying the sprinkler system at Primark's main distribution depot may explain why a blaze destroyed the building so quickly, the fire service said yesterday.

Arson is yet to be ruled out as a cause for the fire, which engulfed the 440,000 sq ft factory in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, on November 1, wiping out half of the high street clothes retailer's stock.

Since then, a team of investigators from Leicestershire's fire and rescue service and police force have been working with TNT, the logistics company which ran the premises for Primark, to establish the cause of the blaze.

They are also investigating why the flames spread so quickly through the premises, which collapsed within minutes.

In a statement, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said: "The cause of the fire has not yet been established and this may take some more time yet as no obvious ignition source has been found to be the cause.

"Investigators are keeping an open mind and they have not yet ruled out that it may have been started deliberately.

"The burst in the water main supplying the sprinkler system, earlier on in the day, is thought to have had a bearing on why the fire travelled so quickly and involved the whole of the building.

"It is still not clear why the fire broke out of the roof with such force."

It added: "The investigators are sifting through data from the fire alarm system and looking at the footage provided by the CCTV cameras situated both inside and outside the building, but have been hampered in their attempts to examine the area where the fire started due to concerns over the stability of the structure