A PROBLEM with an industrial boiler caused a fire at a factory in Tonge Moor.

Firefighters were called to tackle the blaze Vil Resins Ltd, a surface coating resins company in Union Road, at about 7.30pm today.

Three fire engines attended the blaze, in which an industrial boiler flue had caught fire due to a build up of carbon.

Crews were at the site for an hour-and-a-half and used a new piece of equipment called a Cobra Cold Cutting Lance to get the fire under control.

The new ultra high pressure lance is an innovative piece of kit that can pierce through metal and steel and sprays water into burning buildings from outside.

The technology, from Sweden, uses a combination of water and cutting agent, which is ejected through a special nozzle at extremely high pressure and can reduce temperatures from 700 degrees to about 85 degrees in seconds.

Fire crews in Bolton are among the first in the country to use the lance, being one of five in Greater Manchester who have recently been give the lances.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service was the first in the UK to use the equipment.

Watch manager Ian Read said: "It is a dangerous site as there are a lot of paint thinners and turps so it is pretty serious if there is ever a fire on a site like that.

"Instead of sending fire fighters in we used the lance,which is like a jet wash that fires water and small sand-like pieces of metal which can cut through metal and steel.

"The damage wasn't too bad because the equipment limits the amount of damage that we need to do to the place.

"It's a fantastic bit of equipment."

No-one was injured in the fire.