WELLINGTON firefighters rushed to a cake factory when staff were evacuated after an oven overheated.

Local crews were called to support Taunton fire station in response to the incident at the Mademoiselle Desserts factory in Frobisher Way, Taunton.

The factory’s health and safety manager told the Wellington Weekly workers were forced to evacuate after the factory’s fire detection system was activated at around 11.30am on Monday (April 15)

The alarm had been triggered by smoke from an overheating commercial oven motor. Firefighters remained on the scene for around 20 minutes for assessments with thermal imaging cameras to ensure the area was safe before leaving.

It is understood staff were back to work within 40 minutes of the alarm being triggered.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said: “Crews from Wellington and Taunton were dispatched to a commercial property on Frobisher Way in Taunton at 11.27am on Monday after reports of a small fire involving a commercial cooking oven.

“The fire was already out on arrival and crews used a thermal imaging camera to ensure the scene was safe before handing it over to on-site engineers.”

A manager for the factory said: “We had an evacuation earlier today (April 15) when our fire detection system was activated. All staff and visitors evacuated and assembled at the muster point in our car park.

“The fire detection system and our evacuation processes worked as planned.”