Major blaze levels Cork warehouse and trucks as explosions heard across harbour

Fire crews from across Cork battled the intense blaze, preventing it from spreading to nearby buildings and avoiding serious injuries

Explosions were heard across Cork Harbour on Sunday night, as a major fire destroyed a commercial warehouse containing 11 trucks and caused millions of euros in damage.

The alarm was raised shortly after 11pm by a staff member at a warehouse operated by Independent Express Cargo in Ballytrasna, Little Island.

Four appliances from Cork City Fire Brigade, along with a dozen fire crews, attended the scene, supported by crews from Cobh, Midleton, Mallow, and Bandon.

Members of the fire service inspect the distribution warehouse which was distroyed by fire in Ballytrasna, Little Island, Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

Due to the nature of the incident, the Cork County Fire Service's Incident Command Unit also attended from the Carrigaline Station.

"On arrival, the building was well alight with flames coming through the roof in the eastern part of the warehouse," a spokesperson for Cork County Council said.

Victor Shine, second officer with Cork City Fire Brigade, said the majority of the warehouse had already been destroyed when crews arrived.

“It was already a well-established fire, with flames coming through the roof and a number of the trucks within the building ablaze,” Mr Shine said.

Little Island fire.  Picture: Cork County Council

It is understood that 11 vehicles were inside.

"The contents of the warehouse provided a large fuel load consisting of numerous rigid and arctic trucks loaded with timber, coal, brickettes, etc, ready for delivery," the County Council spokesperson said.

Loud explosions and massive plumes of smoke were reported across the harbour, with orange flames visible from areas such as Passage West and Rochestown.

The fire was later brought under control at around 2.30am.

"The cause of the fire is yet unknown. Firewater runoff from the incident was contained on site, and a specialist environmental company has been called in to deal with this," the spokesperson added.

Little Island fire.  Picture: Cork County Council

With the warehouse and its contents completely destroyed, damage is expected to run into the millions.

Mr Shine praised the work of the responding firefighters, saying they worked under difficult conditions to contain a major blaze.

“Due to their efforts, fire was prevented from spreading to the surrounding buildings and nobody was injured,” he said.

One person was treated at the scene for suspected smoke inhalation.

A garda spokesperson said officers were assisting at the scene and confirmed that no injuries were reported.