They arrived to discover the building heavily smoke logged. Using hose reels and a jet, they managed to put out the fire and had returned to their stations by 2.35am.
Nigel Burgess, station commander for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, said:“The rapid location and extinguishment of the fire by attending crews most probably saved the building from being a total loss.”
Smoke inhalation
However, staff had been attempting to contain the blaze with fire extinguishers while waiting for their arrival.
Burgess said: "Unfortunately two members of staff at the factory suffered smoke inhalation after attempting to tackle the fire themselves.”
Firefighters treated the staff with oxygen at the scene.
The director of St Neot’s Packaging, Rikki Collis, said his first concern was that no workers had been hurt in the incident.
Burgess said: “If you discover a fire do not put yourself at risk. A fire can spread extremely quickly and you can easily become trapped.
St Neots makes packaging for the fast food industry.
