Tuesday 21 April 2009

Maple Mill Fire, Oldham, Manchester

The skies above Oldham are a little darker tonight. The Maple Mill near my house is alight. I captured a few short videos on a friends phone here they are. If i get chance i will take some more pics later.
Half the mill is now down but the explosions can still be heard.

As per comments on this posting, the mill is no longer standing. The tower still remains but i am not sure how stable this would be now.









46 comments:

  1. please take the video off private

    and i hope you are ok, my family live there

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  2. Anonymous21/4/09 21:47

    has anyone got an update on the fire my family live near their

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  3. Anonymous21/4/09 21:51

    Is Vance Miller inside by chance, or is he still doing a bit of "Her Majestys"

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  4. Anonymous21/4/09 21:56

    vance miller unfortunatly was not in the mill he was outside watching

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  5. private is off sorry i forgot, the mill has callapsed onto dowry street. there are a lot of embers in the air but all the surrounding houses have been evacuated

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  6. Anonymous21/4/09 22:25

    thx 4 turning private off =)

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  7. danielwhelan21/4/09 22:28

    notice for people from hathershaw school they have no skl tomorrow april 22nd because the evacuted people has been removed from there home and has to go to hathershaw skl in the hall

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  8. Anonymous21/4/09 22:34

    Have the animals in the nearby shelter been removed as well??

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  9. Not sure. i am converting a much more detailed video but it will take a few hours. will upload it hopefully before i go to work at 5am.

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  10. Anonymous21/4/09 22:45

    Does anyone who knows the mill?

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  11. Anonymous21/4/09 22:46

    sorry meant to say does anyone know who owns the mill?

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  12. Anonymous21/4/09 22:47

    i can see that from my ouse on alt ! its massive i just finished work in chadderton and i fort it was a cloud !! n then i was on my way ome n saw it i was like like :s no way u never now what will happen i hope all ppl are safe!

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  13. Anonymous21/4/09 22:48

    Such a shame me and around 200 people have probably just lost our jobs in the middle of a recesion. I was in the office when the first explosion went off. We all got out as quick as we could it was like the mill was coming down on top of us thank god nobody got hurt.

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  14. Anonymous21/4/09 22:49

    its still burining now and i saw the mill fall down its just maddness !!!! from sameee person from alt !

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  15. Anonymous21/4/09 22:56

    i have been watching it all since 5 oclock there is now no maple mill its all collapsed apart from the tower i feel so sorry for all the residents who surround the mills including my family who have been evacuataed does any1 know if any 1 was in side xx

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  16. Anonymous21/4/09 22:57

    I dont think its all fell down, just the back mill on dowry street. Had no updates left my phone in the office and the police wouldnt let me go back to get it.

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  17. Anonymous21/4/09 22:59

    What a sad end to an era. I have lived on Fitton Hill all my life and Maple Mill has always been a place where local residents worked. The views from my bedroom windows were of sheer fright at seeing the intensity of the flames. I hope that no-one has been seriously injured and I'm sure we can all rally around and start collections for those who have lost everything x

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  18. jane wallace21/4/09 23:23

    can't believe it we were watching a rugby game at waterhead this evening and we all thought it was clouds, my mum and i lived next door but one to the mill at the top of dowry st for aprrox 30 years, will definitely help with any collection.

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  19. Anonymous21/4/09 23:31

    I worked for Mr miller in my past and found him a great guy he always reminded me of the termanator HE'LL BE BACK gutted for all you loosin your jobs but you have a great boss so take advantage at this sad time of his good will sure he'll still be there for you lot just be there for him when he needs you all bk answerin them bloody phones.........good luck vance.xx

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  20. Anonymous21/4/09 23:38

    Lets hope so. Anyone from over fitton hill got any updates. I can still see clouds of glowing orange smoke. Realy hope Mill 1 isnt on fire.

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  21. Anonymous21/4/09 23:53

    couldntt hathershaw school get blowed upp!!!!!!!!!!1

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  22. hi i have a video very close to the building if you would like it?

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  23. Anonymous22/4/09 01:06

    i live round the corner and the mills still smoking like crazy now at 1.00am

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  24. Anonymous22/4/09 01:16

    yeah just had to walk around the mill home instead of through it its a ghost town everywhere, my brother was in when it started, scary stuff still on fire now at 1:16

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  25. Anonymous22/4/09 01:38

    Who knows what caused it, his houses were done a while back. Its the way it goes when you mix with the bad lads.


    http://www.vance-miller.com/september

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  26. Anonymous22/4/09 01:41

    he had MFI boss gunning for him aswell.

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  27. Anonymous22/4/09 01:53

    Seen it from Moorside lighting up Oldham's night sky, another mill burning I thought and checked the internet and found this.
    Still see it burning from up here

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  28. Anonymous22/4/09 01:55

    RIP Maple many a good times!!!!

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  29. Anonymous22/4/09 04:22

    Apparently it was the largest Ex-cotton mill in the north. I Could see the flames in the distance from Hyde. From what I've read nobody's gonna miss the dodgy kitchen place that were based there. Unfortunately though there will be a good few people out of work.

    It's got 'Insurance Job' written all over it.

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  30. Anonymous22/4/09 04:33

    If it's an innovative idea from the town planners I'm all for it. The best thing that could happen to Gtr Manchester is for Oldham to be burnt from existence. It's a right Doss hole & it's full of simpletons (No offence).

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  31. Well this video i took on dvd is messing me about this morning so will have another go later. Off to work

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  32. Anonymous22/4/09 06:31

    Prob a insurance job if its got anything to do with vance my friend said last night he rigged the generators to get free electric and it blew

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  33. Anonymous22/4/09 10:26

    was up all night watching it burn
    vance your not that stupid are you?

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  34. Anonymous22/4/09 10:40

    I just hope people havent been hurt and had there home damaged!!

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  35. Anonymous22/4/09 10:47

    My family got evacuated, my mums only just got back into her house on wildbrook crecsent, about 10houses away

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  36. Anonymous22/4/09 11:54

    r all off the houses on dowry street still standing??

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  37. Anonymous22/4/09 11:59

    Thanks to the person who asked about the animals at the nearby Pennine Penn Animal Rescue center on Honeywell Lane. Volunteers were in the center all evening looking after the animals and when it looked as if the fire may have caused us problems we had every single animal boxed and ready to evacuate within half an hour. Luckily it was not necessary and once we were assured by the fire service that they would not be in any danger they were calmly and quietly returned to their own living quarters totally oblivious to the chaos!

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  38. Anonymous22/4/09 12:13

    i need to know bout the houses on dowry street too??

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  39. Anonymous22/4/09 13:02

    The mill was still burning when I left for work this morning at 8am. My family and I watched until 10pm last night as a great Oldham landmark was destroyed. Luckily the larger part of the mill was untouched but still a great loss. As far as we all know all the workers escaped unhurt - I hope this is the truth!

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  40. Anonymous22/4/09 13:04

    hey are any of our houses damaged badly

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  41. Anonymous22/4/09 13:31

    heyy my mother ask jus comfirmed that all the houses are still there, they are just putting the fire out, and we may get back in the houses bout 6-7pm

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  42. Anonymous22/4/09 13:42

    i could see this when i was on my way to work last night, i live in salford!
    when i left work this morning at elk mill retail park you could still see the smoke, at 9am
    and in reply to the anonymous comment that says :
    If it's an innovative idea from the town planners I'm all for it. The best thing that could happen to Gtr Manchester is for Oldham to be burnt from existence. It's a right Doss hole & it's full of simpletons (No offence).

    this is obviously going to cause offence, oldham is a fantastic town, i have lived there all my life until very recently when i moved in with my patner, but im oldham born and breed, comments like that are just out of order, so get over what ever problem you have with oldham, coz im sorry but there are far worse places and i personally am proud to be from oldham, this mill will be greatly missed, rip maple mill x

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  43. Anonymous22/4/09 14:11

    Thats true about that generator, when we was without electricity Vance just binged generator instead of getting it back. I`ve quited 2 weeks ago from maple so now i should be happy i wasnt there this time..

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  44. Suzie Starkie22/4/09 14:35

    Oh how very rude to say "The best thing that could happen to Gtr Manchester is for Oldham to be burnt from existence. It's a right Doss hole & it's full of simpletons. No offence." Well how rude I am from Failsworth/Oldham and your rude I am a Manc girl at heart but wouldn't wish this on any town, how nasty and heartless, people live and work here you know Mr/Miss Perfect!!!

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  45. Anonymous22/4/09 16:24

    haha! karma

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