Two People Taken to Hospital After BAE Systems Nuclear Shipyard Fire

One of the Royal Navy's Astute-class submarines is docked beside the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, on Aug. 6, 2022. Chris Summers/The Epoch Times

Two people have been taken to hospital after a “significant fire” broke out at BAE Systems nuclear shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness shipyard in Cumbria, authorities have confirmed.

Cumbria Constabulary said that emergency services remain on the site, where they have been called in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The police said there was “no nuclear risk,” but advised local residents to keep windows and doors closed.

Two people have been reported to suffer suspected smoke inhalation and taken to hospital.

According to Reuters, BAE Systems said it was working with emergency services to deal with the fire. The company also said that one of the two people had been released from hospital.

“The area around the Devonshire Dock Hall has been evacuated and everyone has been accounted for,” a spokesperson said.

No other casualties were reported after the evacuation from Devonshire Dock Hall, the site’s main building facility.

A statement by the Westmorland and Furness Council said that Cumbria Fire and Rescue are likely to have appliances on site on Wednesday. It added that council services have not been impacted by the fire.

A road closure is in place on Michaelson Bridge, connecting Central Barrow to Barrow Island in south Cumbria.

“Police advise that if you are in a road vehicle and travelling within the vicinity of BAE, please close your vehicle’s windows, air vents and sunroof and turn off fans. Turn off fans and air conditioning if you have them,” the police said.

Thick Black Smoke

Local residents have reported seeing thick black smoke coming from the shipyard.

Donna Butler, 36, told the PA news agency: “My son came and got me and said that the BAE alarms were going off, so we went. It was a lot of black smoke, like really thick black smoke, and it was very loud.”

Another resident said the fire looked “pretty serious” and that he could smell burning.

“My house is maybe a mile as the crow flies and as soon as I stepped outside I could smell the burning and smoke, that’s how intense it must have been at that time,” Jeff Holt, 43, told PA.

Another resident, Jeff Holt, 43, said the fire “looked pretty serious” and that he could smell burning.

According to a taxi driver from Barrow-in-Furness, traffic was backed up for a mile or two after the incident.

Main Building Site

BAE Systems, Britain’s biggest defence company, constructs Astute and Dreadnought nuclear submarines for the Navy on its site in Barrow-in-Furness. The Devonshire Dock Hall is the company’s main building facility. It is 51 metres high and 260 metres long.

Astute class submarines are Britain’s largest and most powerful attack submarines and can strike at targets up to 1,000 kilometres from the coast. The first submarine for the Royal Navy and every submarine currently in service was built in Barrow.

The manufacturer also builds the Dreadnought class submarines, which will replace the Barrow-built Vanguard class submarines in the early 2030s to maintain the UK’s continuous at sea deterrent.

Ahead of the general election in July, Sir Keir Starmer visited the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, where he spoke to workers, union members, and apprentices.

He vowed that if Labour comes to government, it will place “a nuclear deterrent triple lock as the bedrock of our plan to keep Britain safe.” He also pledged that investment in defence will support “British jobs first.”

Starmer also pledged to maintain the UK’s continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent and offer “new UK leadership” within the Indo-Pacific security partnership AUKUS, comprised of the United States, Australia, and the UK.

Market data showed that shares in BAE Systems were trading down 1.7 percent in early deals.

The Epoch Times has contacted BAE Systems for further comment.

PA Media and Reuters contributed to this report.