A factory has been gutted in an inferno which dozens of firefighters battled through the night.
The premises of Diamond Catering Supplies (DCS) Ltd, on Troon Way industrial estate, Leicester, was today little more than a shell.
Workers on the night shift at the Trevanth Road factory, which produces packaging for the catering industry, raised the alarm just before midnight on Wednesday.
Up to 40 firefighters dealt with the blaze at its height, with crews called in from as far afield as Nottingham.
Incident commander Simon Holden, of the city's Eastern station, said: "The first crews were on the scene within six minutes.
"Fortunately, all production line workers had managed to get out unhurt."
He said the scale of the fire resulted in urgent requests for back-up.
"By the time the first crews arrived on scene, the building was fully involved," he said.
"Given the nature of the business, with a lot of plastics and paper inside, the fire spread very quickly."
At its height, flames could be seen across the north of the city.
Ten crews joined the operation and jets from at least three aerial platforms were trained on the blaze through the night.
"The problem we had is that this type of building is designed to collapse in on itself, making it unsafe to commit crews into the building," said Watch Manager Holden.
"It limited us to a largely defensive firefighting operation from outside the factory."
A brick building attached to the factory, housing its offices was saved.
The flames were prevented from spreading to a neighbouring unit.
Crews were damping down fire hotspots in the factory at 3pm yesterday, when demolition and salvage crews began arriving at the scene.
Employees on the day shift arrived yesterday to find their workplace in ruins.
Marion Johnson, co-owner of Molly's Kitchen, a cafe across the road from the factory, said: "We had workers coming in first thing in the morning who were all very shocked and upset.
"I could smell the smoke on my way to work and couldn't believe my eyes at the sight that greeted me.
"It was a big shock so see the factory – there's nothing left of it.
"We've been offering any support we can and I'm just glad that nobody was hurt. That's the main thing."
Fire investigators were expected to begin their investigation yesterday evening.
A spokesman said: "The cause at this stage is unknown and we won't have any clearer idea until the last hotspots are extinguished and the structure is made safe to enter."
The owner of the factory declined to comment.
