POLICE have labelled a suspected arson attack in Padiham as ‘reckless and extremely dangerous’.

Plastics at the Jigsaw Quest storage unit in Park Road caught fire at around 3.30pm on Wednesday, sparking a huge response from the fire service as black smoke poured into the air.

Detectives appealed for witnesses to the blaze, which needed more than 50 firefighters to bring it under control.

Bosses at the business said they hoped it would be back up and running within a fortnight.

DC Martin Legdon of Burnley CID said: “This was a reckless and extremely dangerous thing to do and it is fortunate that the fire was spotted and fire officers were able to extinguish it before it spread any further.

“If anyone has any information that they think could help us trace the people responsible, then I would urge them to call us as soon as possible by calling 101 and quoting log number LC-20130724-1129.”

Mark Hutton, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) group manager for the Pennine area, said: “We do keep an open mind but we are already treating the fire as suspicious. Youths were seen in the area at the time of the fire.

“We are very, very grateful for the community’s understanding in allowing us to close Park Road to do our work.

“People sometimes don’t realise that when they chat to our firefighters they can be a distraction but in Padiham they allowed us to get on with the job.

“We hope to pay them back by returning the area to normality as soon as possible.”

Last Saturday, the Lancashire Telegraph reported how one of the two fire engines at Padiham’s retained station could be axed as LFRS seeks to make £5m of savings.

Mr Hutton said only one engine from Padiham station was used during Wednesday’s incident.

He said: “A crew from Padiham station was on the scene within minutes and the vertical cloud was hugely in our favour in terms of other crews being able to find the fire.

“The second Padiham engine wasn’t available due to staffing issues but the response from across the county - Morecambe, Blackpool, Chorley, Fulwood, Hyndburn - shows that LFRS is there to serve the whole county and the key stations served their purpose.”