2 men injured in ex-colliery explosion
Two security guards are in a serious condition in hospital after being injured in an explosion at an ex-colliery.
The explosion happened at the former Welbeck Colliery in Nottinghamshire, on the evening of Saturday 31st December.
The men suffered serious facial burns and are in a critical but stable condition at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre.
A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said: “It is understood that the men were working at the site as security personnel. Detectives are liaising with the site owners, UK Coal, with the fire service and the Health and Safety Executive to determine the sequence of events leading up to the incident.”
A spokeswoman for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service added: “The fire itself was very small. The main issue was the explosion itself and the two people injured.”
An investigation is now underway to determine the exact cause of the explosion.
Arson suspected at Stallingborough pallet yard
A large fire broke out at a wooden pallet yard in Stallingborough and it is thought that it may have been started deliberately.
Seven appliances from Humberside Fire and Rescue Service stations at Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Immingham and Hull attended the fire on 31st December.
A spokesman for the service said: “There were a large number of wooden pallets so we sent a large number of appliances, as we knew we had to get the fire under control quickly. We needed so many pumps so we could section off the fire and fight it from all angles to stop it spreading.”
Paul Smith, of Pallet Services Limited, said that the business would recover. He said: “It is a shock start to the year but I am extremely glad that no one was in the yard at the time and no one has been injured in the incident. The fire was a big one and most of the stock has been destroyed, so rebuilding will not be an easy process – but we will definitely reopen again. This is an awful situation to be in but we have a lot of customers and they are very important to us so, with the help of some very hard-working suppliers and staff members, we will rebuild. The police and fire services are treating the incident as suspicious so, for their purposes and the purposes of our insurers, I do not want to say any more at this stage.”
Eyewitness Matthew Leggott said: “There are a lot of industrial properties round there, so it was obviously difficult, but they managed to source some water locally in the end. I was surprised that they didn’t even shut the road off until quite late on but given that it was a Saturday and New Year’s Eve, there weren’t many people around. Had it been a normal trading day it could have been more dangerous and much more disruptive.”
9 year old boy dies in Kilmarnock house fire
A 9 year old boy has died in a fire at a family home in Kilmarnock.
The boy and two girls, aged three and four, were all rescued by firefighters and taken to hospital. Sadly the boy passed away shortly after arriving at the Crosshouse Hospital. The girls are said to be in a stable condition.
Fire crews were called to the fire in Altonhill Avenue, Kilmarnock at around 3.19am on 27th December.
It is thought that the fire may have been caused by a fibre-optic Christmas tree.
A full investigation will be carried out by Strathclyde Fire and Rescue and Strathclyde Police to determine the cause of the fire although it is not believed to be suspicious.
Christmas Day takeaway fire
A fire broke out at a Bridgewater takeaway on Christmas Day.
Several nearby homes were affected and many occupants chose to evacuate. One woman required treatment for smoke inhalation.
The fire broke out at the Flames Grill and Pizza Time, in St Mary Street at around 1pm.
Mendrens Sam who runs the takeaway said: “We were quite busy and I only went out of the shop for half an hour and when I came back there were fire engines outside. This is life and it happens to everyone. There was no fire damage to the shop and we hope to open in a couple of days. It was smoke from an air compressor at the back of the shop. It will affect my business.”
A spokesman for Devon and Somerset Fire Service said: “Damage was sustained to the storage area at the rear of the property and smoke damage to the shop and flats above.”
The cause of the fire is thought to have been due to an electrical fault.