A fierce fire at a Sta Venera warehouse was extinguished at around noon today, almost 21 hours after it broke out, causing damage running into many thousands of euros.

"It was a delicate operation, the roof was in danger of collapse, and the nature of the materials inside was such that the men had to use breathing apparatus" Peter Cordina, director of the Civil Protection Department told timesofmalta.com. He said 46 firemen fought the fire yesterday and overnight and another 30 today.

Six fire engines were on the scene this morning and one is still on standby there.

The fire, at Francis Busuttil and Sons, near Sta Venera's old parish church, was noticed at around 3 p.m. and quickly spread across the vast, two storey building. Workers were evacuated safely and as the flames took hold, people living behind the warehouse were evacuated as a precaution.

The blaze was brought under control around 7 p.m. but smoke was still coming out of the premises this morning, fuelled by a large quantity of plastics, wood, cleaning liquids and sugar, which were among the items stored there.

Picture: The scene at Sta Venera yesterday (Jason Borg).