MP praises firefighters after major Kendal blaze

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has thanked firefighters from throughout Cumbria for their work tackling a major blaze in Kendal over the last 72 hours.

Four businesses - Mardix Industrial Controls, Furmanite, Westmorland Glass and an independent joiner's workshop called KTS Timber, all based on Shap Road in Kendal have been affected by the fire. Several homes had to be evacuated and the Sandylands Methodist Church was opened for sanctuary, along with further help from The Duke of Cumberland pub and The Salvation Army in Kendal which opened its hall on Gillinggate for residents who needed somewhere to go until they were allowed to return to their homes. Tim thanked all those organisations, churches and businesses for their generosity.

Tim went down on Sunday to the site to personally thank the fire crews at the scene. Later in the afternoon Councillors David and Shirley Evans joined with Kendal Town Councillor Lynne Oldham to do the same.

Tim said: "The emergency services over the last 72 hours were fantastic. They went above and beyond the call of duty and I just want to thank them for all they did and are doing. When I went to meet firefighters on Sunday and thank them personally, I saw how hard they had worked and how tired they were, especially the retained firefighters. It was a herculean effort and I want to pay tribute to each and every one of them.

"I also want to thank local people in Kendal who opened their doors, churches and businesses to help all those in need.

"I will support the businesses and staff in any way I can and will work with the council and others to make sure they re-open as soon as possible."

Councillor for the area affected, Kendal Mintsfeet David Evans added: "It is clear that the emergency services worked phenomenally hard to save as much of the site as possible. A big thank you to them and all the people who helped out, looking after the evacuees. We all need to do everything we can to help the affected businesses get back to full production as soon as possible."