Fire investigation at BAE Systems' Barrow nuclear shipyard

The fire broke out in the main building of the Cumbria site

PA Media A white building with a red sign that reads: "BAE SYSTEMS". Gray and black stripes - smoke damage - can be seen on the outside. — The fire broke out in the main building of the Cumbria site

An investigation into a fire at a nuclear shipyard is underway.

A ‘significant’ fire was reported early on Wednesday morning at the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, where Britain’s nuclear submarines are built.

The defense company said it would be “inappropriate” to comment further on the cause or possible impact until a full investigation has taken place.

The affected area would only be accessible to essential personnel, BAE Systems added, but the rest of the site was operational.

Two BAE employees were taken to hospital and have since been released

Donna Michelle Butler Smoke billows from a large white building at BAE Systems' nuclear submarine shipyard. — Two BAE employees were taken to hospital and have since been released

Barrow Mayor Judith McEwan said people in Barrow were “OK” and “very confident” in the backup system at the site.

“We don’t have these types of incidents very often at BAE, they have very high security,” Ms McEwan said.

“People in Barrow don’t panic about things like this.”

Meanwhile, Labor MP for Barrow and Furness Michelle Scrogham said she and ministers were kept regularly informed.

“It’s our biggest employer, one in three work there, it’s huge for Barrow-in-Furness, but at the moment I don’t think it would be right to speculate about what’s happening there,” Ms Scrogham said.