AN INVESTIGATION has been launched to determine what caused a major fire at a railway depot in Carlisle.

The blaze of about 150 wooden rail sleepers took hold at a Network Rail site near St Nicholas Bridge in Upperby at about 9.45pm on Tuesday.

The incident prompted a co-ordinated effort by four teams of firefighters from the city’s east and west stations, plus Brampton and Longtown.

Initially, a secondary fire on the other side of the tracks was extinguished by the team from Longtown, before they later used water and compressed air foam to help the main firefighting effort.

Crews battled for nearly six hours throughout the night to bring the fire under control.

Various items of equipment including breathing apparatus, hosereels and compressed air foam (CAFs) were all used to bring the incident to a conclusion.

A spokesman from Carlisle East fire station told the News & Star: “We were called out just before 10pm on Tuesday night, and returned to the station at about 3am after putting the fire out.

“About 150 railway sleepers were on fire, and our crews extinguished the blaze using hosereels and a compressed air foam system, utilising a Network Rail Palfinger machine to separate them out once the machine became available.

“We were later recalled at about 6am to a small section on fire, and Carlisle East and West fire stations attended.

“A Network Rail telehandler (reach forklift) became available soon after, so the sleepers were separated and the fire was soon fully extinguished.”

All of the crews returned to their stations shortly after 9am yesterday.

“The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but is under investigation.

“However, there is no suspicion of arson at this time.

“There was some good work by the crews, who stopped the blaze spreading to other nearby combustible materials,” the spokesman from the fire service continued.

Following the incident, Network Rail have praised the actions of firefighters to contain the blaze, and ensuring neighbouring properties and sites remained safe.

A spokesman from the company added: “We’re working with the fire service to find out what caused a blaze involving about 150 old railway sleepers at our Carlisle depot by St Nicholas Bridge.

“Initial enquiries suggest embers from a bonfire on neighbouring land may have caused the sleepers to set alight.

“We thank Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service for safely putting out the flames.”

Network Rail also runs an emergency 24-hour helpline to report incidents such as people, animals or objects on or near the track, damage or a fault at a level crossing, if a vehicle has hit a bridge, or if there is a broken fence or open gate allowing access to the track.

The team can be contacted on 03457 11 41 41.