THE onsite firefighting team of a chemical works was last night praised for helping to safely contain a blaze in a cooling tower.

The blaze was confined to the 2m-square metal structure, which was being decommissioned on the Thomas Swan and Co works at Crookhall, on the outskirts of Consett, County Durham.

Two fire crews from nearby Consett station, backed by the Durham brigade's environmental protection and special incident units, received an automatic call-out after the alarm was raised shortly before 9.20am yesterday.

But, on arrival, the blaze was being kept under control by the plant's dedicated fire crew, which includes two part-time firefighters.

The regular firefighters helped to contain and extinguish lingering flames, restricting the damage to the single tower.

Keith Wanley, the Durham fire service's Consett station manager, said: "I'll be writing to the company to praise their own firefighting team who did a fantastic job.

"I've spoken to our officer in charge and he said they performed very well. We just had to provide a support operation when our crews arrived, with extra breathing apparatus teams and jets put into use.

"Staff were evacuated from the area and the quick containment prevented it from possibly spreading elsewhere.

"We have obviously met with the people at the factory following previous incidents and there is an action plan in place, with the arrangements involving their own firefighting team, who have their own breathing apparatus and chemical protection suits.

"I must stress, however, that there were no chemicals involved in this incident," added Mr Wanley.

Thomas Swan director and general manager Dai Hayward said last night: "It was a very minor incident, swiftly and easily contained.

"We have an investigation under way to look into the exact cause, but it is too early to speculate."

Mr Hayward added the fire was well away from any chemicals.

Thomas Swan and Co make chemicals for use by other companies manufacturing a variety of products.