Fire ravaged Indian restaurant in Edinburgh to reopen
It has been revealed that a popular Indian restaurant which was badly damaged in a blaze, back in 2008, is finally expected to open again, possibly by the end of the year.
Khushi’s, situated on Victoria Street, has been closed since December of 2008, due to the city centre blaze which also caused devastation to two other businesses, now both reopened.
Partner Islam Mohammed has confirmed that the work on the building should take up to 12 months to finish now that the insurance is all but sorted out.
Mr Mohammed said:
“Once we get clarification from (the insurers] we can start, hopefully in the spring. It’s difficult to say just now what the timescales are – we have to get in and see what state it is in – but I’d imagine it could take between nine and 12 months to complete.”
Local authorities hope that the development will bring back character and energy to the area.
Liberal Democrat councillor Charles Dundas said:
“It’s certainly not in the economic interest to have a large gap site there, so I’m pleased things seem to be moving forward.”
The fire was started in the kitchen of the restaurant and the damage was said to have been extensive. However, the future prognosis is certainly looking much brighter, especially with the news that work will begin in the spring.
Fire at Torquay refuse site
Fire fighters were called to a fire at a site in Torquay used by construction companies to dump building rubble and debris.
Motorists called the fire service at around 5.30pm on Friday after the smoke started to drift across the road causing travel chaos.
It is not the first time fire fighters have been called to the site. A spokesperson for Torquay Fire Station said “We have been up there half a dozen times and the fire service is now investigating the process there. We were there for four or five hours tying up resources on that piece of land. We are now taking steps to get the situation remedied.”
Firefighters forced to retreat in Leeds farm fire
Fire crews had to pull back as they attempted to tackle a barn blaze in Temple Newsam, East Leeds last Sunday due to the risks posed by asbestos.
The situation arose after the roof of the barn, located in the grounds of a historic property, collapsed, which caused asbestos to fall into the flames.
A spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Fire Service said:
“The majority of the roof was not asbestos but there was asbestos cement which contaminated the straw.
“In addition the site is structurally unsafe. So the firefighters could not go in to put the fire out because of the asbestos and because the building is unsafe.”
The fire began on the Sunday but was still being controlled by firefighters on Thursday.
At the height of the blaze, fire crews from nine West Yorkshire fire stations were involved in tackling this fire.
A Leeds City Council spokesman said:
“The fire is under control but is still active and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service remain at the scene.
“Part of the roof structure of the barn did contain some asbestos which has been assessed and is of low-risk grade, and all parties involved are proceeding with the necessary caution to reduce the impact of the damage in order for the clean-up operation to begin as soon possible.
“The farm remains closed to the public.”
Fire breaks out in supermarket kitchen
It has been reported this week that a Tesco supermarket in Plymouth was severely damaged by a blaze which started in a kitchen during the early hours of the morning.
Fire crews from Greenbank and Crownhill were called to the site in Transit Way around 1am on Thursday morning where they found that the kitchen fire had caused a water pipe to burst, which flooded the first floor of the premises.
An electrical fault was said to have been the cause of the commercial kitchen fire, originating from a refrigeration unit. The fire then spread to the roof space and the heat intensity caused the water pipe to fracture.
The first floor of the store, which contained office space, suffered from 30 percent smoke damage, while the kitchen was badly damaged by the fire.
Four firefighters managed to contain the fire, but it took fire crews until 4am to get the flooding situation under control and ensure that the rest of the building would not be further damaged by the flowing water.
Despite the situation, the ground floor of the store still managed to open the same morning, although certain areas were not open to the public due to the damage sustained.
Fire service reiterates need for working smoke alarms
Following the Southampton shop fire, which we detailed yesterday, the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service have reinforced their fire safety directive that a building should contain a minimum of one fully working fire alarm on every floor.
The fire in the city centre on Thursday morning, where three people were treated for injuries sustained in the blaze, has led to this reminder from the fire service.
The fire service has also stressed that these working fire alarms should ideally be installed in all rooms apart from the bathroom and kitchen of a home. These exceptions are because the hot water steam and cooking smoke can set off false alarms.
Shaun Cheeseman, Watch Manager at St. Mary’s Community Fire Station, said:
“Your working smoke alarm will give you very early warning of a fire – but when it sounds, you will need to know what to do. Think about how you will call the Fire and Rescue Service. Your working smoke alarm will give you the warning and the time to get out, get the fire service out… and stay out.”
This advice could help to save lives so it is important for all home and business owners to take heed of these fire safety warnings.