Police say ‘no nuclear risk’ after huge fire breaks out in vicinity of UK submarine shipyard

(CNN) — A large fire has broken out at the site of one of Britain’s biggest defense companies.

Emergency officials said early Wednesday that fire crews and police were responding to the blaze in the vicinity of BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness, northwest England.

BAE Systems is one of the largest defense contractors in Europe. Its subsidiary, BAE Systems Submarines, headquartered in Barrow-in-Furness, builds and assembles the UK’s nuclear submarines.

“There is no nuclear risk,” Cumbria Police said in a statement on X. “However, people living nearby are advised to remain indoors and keep doors and windows closed.”

A similar advisory was also shared by the Cumbria Fire & Rescue Services on its X account.

Police said the incident was reported around 12:44 a.m. local time on Wednesday. It did not say the cause of the fire.

Two people have been hospitalized after suffering suspected smoke inhalation, it added.

A BAE Systems spokesperson told CNN in a statement: “We are working with emergency services to deal with a fire at our site in Barrow in Furness. The area around the Devonshire Dock Hall has been evacuated and everyone has been accounted for.

“Two colleagues were taken to hospital having suffered suspected smoke inhalation and have both since been released.

“We will provide further updates in due course.”

CNN reached out to the UK Ministry of Defence, which directed questions to BAE Systems.

Photos shared on social media showed flames and smoke rising from an industrial building near the shipyard.

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