Massive Fire Destroys NEP Visions Building in UK

by Fergal Ringrose and Ken Kerschbaumer

The NEP Visions building in Bracknell – a town in Berkshire, England which is just 32 miles west of Central London – has collapsed after a fire broke out overnight. Eyewitnesses reported hearing a number of explosions ripping through the area. No one was injured.

FireBrian Clark, NEP Visions Commercial and Technical Projects Director told SVG Europe, “we’ve lost trucks but no people and that’s the main thing. We have no idea what caused the fire and cannot even speculate at this time.

(UPDATE: NEP Vision has confirmed that five mobile units were destroyed in the fire. Three large OB units – NEP Visions’ Gemini, HD3 and HD2 – as well as Observe’s HD3 small OB unit, and one VT truck were lost. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.)

“We managed to recover quite a few trucks that were parked outside the main garage: the garage is destroyed,” said Clark. “Thanks to our OBS facility in Slough we’ve been able to recover to some extent and get staff back in contact with clients this morning.

“We are incredibly appreciative of all the calls of support we’ve had from the OB area and the industry. We are overwhelmed by the level of support and all the calls from colleagues. I can’t reiterate how thankful we are. We are obviously in shock but we’re trying to be ‘business as usual’ as much as we can and putting in place immediate plans to ensure clients and contracts are looked after,” Clark told SVG Europe.

Firefighters spent much of the night tackling the fire at the Western Industrial Estate in Bracknell, shortly after 22:00 GMT on Tuesday. They brought 10 fire engines and an aerial platform to deal with the blaze which continued into Wednesday morning. At least six people were in the building but managed to escape without injury, local media reported.

The initial explosions from the fire could be heard around Bracknell, with people taking to social media to share photos and see what was happening. Jess Hunt wrote on Twitter, “Thought someone was letting off fireworks till I saw the smoke outside. Bracknell literally on fire!!”

NEP Visions Worldwide is an international media and broadcasting company, with bases in the United States, UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates and Australia. It has been operating for 30 years, working on events including the 2011 Royal wedding, Wimbledon, major concerts and Champions League football.

SVG Europe will continue to provide updates on this story as they become available.

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