Arson suspected after fire at halal poultry factory in Preston

Arson is the suspected cause of a serious fire at one of Europe’s largest halal-certified poultry processing facilities.

A spokesman or Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service told FoodManufacture.co.uk that crews attended Gafoor Halal Products on Fletcher Road, Preston in the early hours of Monday morning when the premises were locked up with no staff onsite.

“A couple of fire engines attended the site at 12.15am on Monday morning, and our crews were there about an hour,” he said. “About 100 wooden pallets (from a stack of 800) were damaged, and we suspect arson; that’s the route we’re going down via a joint investigation with Police.”

When the initial emergency call was made, the spokesman said that trees were engulfed behing Gafoor’s multi-million pound facility.

FoodManufacture.co.uk, 16 December 2010