AN evacuation was ordered as firefighters attended the scene of a reactor fire this afternoon, Monday.

Two fire engines from Widnes and Penketh fire stations rushed to the industrial estate access road, off Moorfield Road in Widnes, at 12.23pm.

A full-site evacuation, with everyone accounted for, was carried out as firefighters were called to a report of a fire in a non-toxic reactor tank.

Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were rapidly deployed with a hose reel jet to assess the situation.

A small fire was located on top of the reactor, caused by an oil leak onto a hot surface.

Crews and onsite personnel continued to monitor the temperature of the vessel as personnel were allowed back on-site outside the cordoned-off incident ground.

Hose reel jets were used to cool off hot areas to bring the temperature down, and the outer cover was removed for inspection purposes.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that crews were at the scene for around three hours.