A BIG thank you has been paid to employees who worked around the clock to repair fire damage which brought steel-making on the Scunthorpe Corus works to a halt for eight days.

In doing so, however, the Scunthorpe site director Sean Lyons has warned there were lessons to be learned from last month's blaze in the basic oxygen steel-making plant (BOS).

Following the fire on February 19 engineers from across the 2,000-acre site worked alongside BOS production operatives and contractors to repair the damage.

Mr Lyons revealed more than nine miles of cabling as well as 700 cable joints had to be repaired and checked.

At the same more than 4,000 individual wires were connected.

During the eight-day rescue operation the team had to work in an area of limited access around 20 feet above floor level.

Kim Southward, the works manager for steel-making, described the repair work as 'a staggering achievement'.

Contractor-cleaners in the 37-year-old plant have also been commended for their quick action in raising the alarm after spotting smoke coming from the floor below where they were working.

As a result the company's own emergency team and Humberside fire and rescue personnel were able to contain the fire within an hour and no-one was hurt.

Mr Lyons said: "I'd like to extend my thanks to everyone who helped in ensuring the repairs were done as quickly as possible and most importantly, safely."

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