- Date released: 9 October 2025
- Request number: 202509036
- Release of information under: FOI
Information requested
I would like to request the finding of the investigation and inquiry into the cause of a fire at BAE in Barrow on 30 October 2024. I would like to request all information you have with regard to this incident, including interviews.
Information released
We confirm that under s.1 of the FOIA, we do not hold the information you have requested.
We have understood your request to be related to information connected to the nature/cause of the incident at the Devonshire Dock Hall facility at the Barrow-in-Furness site in October 2024. The investigation into the cause of the fire is being led by the Cumbria Police and Cumbria Fire and Rescue services as they are the enforcing authorities for the incident in question. From their last update to ONR, this investigation is still ongoing. Any enquiries regarding the investigation should be directed to Cumbria Police or Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service.
Further Information
In relation to this incident, ONR is the enforcing authority for the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Our enquiries found that five employees entered an area in the Devonshire Dock Hall facility when the fire was still in progress on 30 October 2024. As a result, two employees were taken to hospital for treatment. Both employees were discharged and returned to work on the same day. Enquiries concluded that the licensee’s arrangements for ensuring workers did not enter places of danger without the appropriate safety instructions were inadequate. There was also a lack of guidance to inform staff of their required actions in the event of a fire.
We served the enforcement notice under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, specifically Article 15(1)(c) and Article 8(1)(a). Further information has been published on our website - Improvements required following Barrow fire | Office for Nuclear Regulation.
Following the outcome of the Cumbria Police and Cumbria Fire and Rescue services investigation, we may conduct further enquiries, if the findings of the investigation lead us to suspect that breaches of the law may have occurred, for which we are the enforcing authority.
Exemptions applied
N/A
PIT (Public Interest Test) if applicable
N/A