MILLIONS of “vital” record documents have been destroyed after a large paper archiving warehouse was destroyed in a suspected arson attack.

Up to 40 full and part-time jobs have been left hanging in the balance after the blaze devastated the Rapide warehouse in Smiths Road, Darcy Lever.

The fire, described as “intense” by firefighters, was so fierce that it melted the steel structure of the building.

The alarm was raised just after 1am yesterday morning when the fire was spotted by a security guard from neighbouring business, Hindle Transport, during a routine patrol of the industrial estate.

More than 25 firefighters were tackling the blaze at its height, and watch commander Danny Marshall from Farnworth fire station was one of the first on the scene.

He said: “As we were approaching we could see the glow through the top of the roof because it had already broken through.

“Basically the building has virtually collapsed. It’s a steel structure and the metal has all melted and twisted. It was a very intense fire.”

The fire destroyed half of the 60 by 30 metre unit, which was stacked 20 metres high with thousands of pallets containing paper documents.

Rapide specialises in paper storage, scanning and shredding, and the destroyed warehouse was used for long-term archiving and storage.

Rapide’s clients a monthly rate per box to keep the documents safe.

The company’s operations manager Sean Davies said the business had been devastated by the blaze.

He said: “There were millions of documents stored in thousands of boxes.

“Every precaution has been taken to prevent fire, and there were people on site, but it’s just happened so quick that half the storage has gone up.

“What’s not been destroyed with fire has been damaged with water.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen now. We’ve got to seek legal advice.

“The consensus at the moment is that the business will not survive this.”

The company’s website says: “Secure storage of vital records can be of immense importance to businesses and Rapide have developed systems to manage your documents for you.

“Our premises are protected by fire and intruder alarms as well as CCTV and your documents are stored under controlled conditions to keep them in pristine condition.”

Firefighters said that early indications suggested the fire was started deliberately, and the fire service is working with detectives to establish the cause.

Efforts were being hampered this morning because the fire was still burning and the building was too dangerous to enter.

Firefighters are expected to stay at the scene all day.