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The sets for the widely popular TV series “Downton Abbey” and “Peaky Blinders” have caught fire in England.
A fire broke out Thursday at the Dalton Mills building in Keighley in West Yorkshire.
Videos of the incident on social media showed a team of firefighters trying to put out the blaze. The clips show the building going up in large, fiery flames and gray smoke polluted the air.
“Downton Abbey” aired on PBS from 2010 until 2015, with a feature film debuting in 2019. A sequel is planned for release in May. The site of the fire was used as a backdrop in many of the show’s episodes.
As for “Peaky Blinders,” the BBC/Netflix series is in its sixth and final season, having premiered in 2013.
The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service advised residents of the area to stay home and asked people to not visit the area affected.
The fire service tweeted Thursday, “We are currently in attendance at a fire at Dalton Mills, Keighley. There is a lot of smoke in the area & residents are advised to keep doors/windows closed. Please avoid traveling through the area.”
They added that police, ambulance and the Yorkshire Water and Environment Agency were at the scene to help out. Water was also being pumped from the nearby River Aire to put out the fire.
They also tweeted an update a short while later, saying: “We still have crews and specialist units tackling the Mill fire in Keighley. 100% of building [is] involved. Please stay away from the area. Thanks to local residents for their patience & partners for their support as we tackle this incident.”
Artist Marcus Levine also recounted the traumatic event, as his art studio is across the street from the mill. “Drama across from my studio as Dalton Mills, Keighley goes up in smoke. As I left it got a lot worse with barrels of flames pouring out the windows. It just looked like a bit of smoke for ages. All that work refurbishing the building has now been destroyed,” he tweeted.
Cathy Killick, a TV reporter for BBC Look North, was on the scene and described the situation with terrifying details.
“You can smell it on the valley side of the town, where people are gathering to look down into Keighley and onto the site of the fire,” she said. “As well as the roof, we can see flames shooting from some of the mill’s chimneys as fire crews shoot jets of water to try and control the fire.”
The mill has been used in many film and TV productions beyond “Downton Abbey” and “Peaky Blinders.” It was once the largest textile mill in Yorkshire and had employed over 2,000 workers, according to Screen Yorkshire. The building was constructed by Joseph Craven in 1869 and was closed in the 1990s. Another fire had struck the compound in 2011 and it was rumored to have been started by copper thieves.
The area has several large spaces and features, including a large courtyard and a clock tower. Other projects that have been shot there include “The Great Train Robbery” and “The Limehouse Golem.”
The Post reached out to Netflix and PBS for comment.
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