St Leonards blaze: Business speaks of ‘devastating blow’ after factory destroyed

The businesses at the centre of a devastating fire on a St Leonards industrial estate has spoken of its shock after losing its factory.
Six crews were called to the blaze in Drury LaneSix crews were called to the blaze in Drury Lane
Six crews were called to the blaze in Drury Lane

A building belonging to engineering firm Drallim Industries was destroyed after a fire broke out inside the 50m by 70m structure just after 9pm last night. For more see our previous story: Residents evacuated after huge fire breaks out in St Leonards

Six fire crews battled the blaze in Drury Lane for more than 12 hours fighting throughout the night and into the morning to try and control the flames.

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David Mooney, managing director at the firm, said: “I was up most of the night. It’s a devastating blow. We are just shocked really.

Six crews were called to the blaze in Drury LaneSix crews were called to the blaze in Drury Lane
Six crews were called to the blaze in Drury Lane

“At this moment we are sitting back and taking this in. We have lost the factory and they still haven’t finished investigating the site.

“It’s going to be a real challenge.”

Due to the scale of the incident homes were evacuated in the area and a 200m cordon was put around the site.

The fire service said the cordon had now been reduced to 5m and UK Power Network engineers had been called to carry out further investigations.

Founded more than 60 years ago Drallim specialises in manufacturing equipment for aerospace and industrial industries across the globe.