THE CAUSE of the blaze which devastated Batsford Saw Mills on the Longleat estate last Wednesday is still being investigated.

The blaze, which sent toxic fumes of chrome arsenic and creosote billowing into the air above Longleat Forest, is estimated to have caused more than £150,000 worth of damage, destroying a treatment tank warehouse.

Around 70 firefighters were at the scene for more than six hours, wearing specialist breathing apparatus to fight their way through the fumes.

Nine firefighters were taken to hospital after the fire for precautionary check-ups but all were released within a matter of hours.

Warminster firefighter Steve Howell was initially taken to the Royal United Hospital in Bath suffering from smoke inhalation but was also released the same night.

Wiltshire Fire Brigade spokesman Val Hampshire said: "The fire was unusual because it was deep in the woods, which complicates matters.

"Potentially it could have been a very serious incident. Because of the work we did it was just a large fire rather than anything worse."

Batsford Timber managing director Bob Clarke believes a major catastrophe was averted.

He said: "If the creosote treatment tank had gone up then we would have been looking at a major disaster.

"There wasn't as much danger as they initially thought.

"The fire could have been caused by something electrical but we don't know. There was too much heat to pinpoint the cause.

"It is certainly a knock-back but we shall rise from the ashes. We have to have a new building put up so that could be another two to three months, but then we will be ready for next season."

Batsford Timber has been leasing the saw mills from Longleat for more than a year.

The company also owns another mill in Moreton-on-Marsh.

Mr Clarke added: "It is quite a close-knit business so we are all unhappy.

"We are determined to give it our best shot and we have lots of new products planned for spring, so we are hoping to carry on as normal."