Four fire crews were called out to the former Alcan factory near Lillyhall in west Cumbria to tackle a fire in a derelict building.
Old paperwork in a cellar room had been set alight. The fire crews - from Whitehaven and Workington - spent more than three hours putting out the blaze and making sure that nobody was inside the building.
A spokesman for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service said that there were fears that there could be asbestos in the building. Several firefighters wearing breathing apparatus checked out the area as part of the fire-fighting operation.
The alarm was raised at 11pm on Monday, and the crews were there until just after 3am today. It is thought the fire was deliberately started.
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