Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) have confirmed crews attended the property in May where human remains were discovered in Oldham on Saturday.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have declared a major incident after human remains were found by demolition workers at Bismark House Mill on Bower Street.

On Thursday, GMP received a report that four Vietnamese nationals were missing and may have been involved in a fire.

At a press conference this afternoon (Monday, July 25), GMFRS confirmed that fire services were called to the premises on Saturday, May 7, during which time they extinguished a "well-developed fire" which took four days to put out.

At the time, the fire service did not believe anyone was inside the mill.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Leon Parkes, said that the blaze was so "serious", the fire service could not allow firefighters to enter the building.

However, now that human remains have been reported, Mr Parkes said an investigation is underway and that fire services will work with GMP to review the details of the incident and the emergency services' response to it.

Watch Mr Parkes speech in full here:

Mr Parkes said: “Thoughts are with everyone from GMFRS and all those involved in this tragic incident and the person who tragically lost their life and those still currently missing.

“I can confirm that GMFRS attended an incident on the site in May.

“When the fire service arrived at the scene, they were met with a very serious fire, a well-developed fire in the building.

“A decision was made at that time not to permit any firefighters into the building for two reasons.

“Firstly, the fire was well developed and was continuing to grow and secondly there was some concerns about the structure and stability of the building.

“We fought the fire for over four days from the outside before handing the premises over.

“These are the correct procedures that are followed in situations like this.

“Given the devastation that has happened here, it’s right that we are absolutely certain and that’s why we are now reviewing the details of the incident and how we managed the incident.

“We will work closely with colleagues from Greater Manchester Police, and support them with their investigations so that justice can be served.”

Meanwhile, GMP Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts said: "Victims and the bereaved are at the forefront of our investigations into deaths."

Mr Potts urged anyone with information to contact GMP or anonymously via Crimestoppers.

Read more about what GMP have said about the major incident here.