Arson suspected at Luton Mosque
Fire crews were called to the Bury Park Jamie Masjid mosque in Luton after a fire broke out on 2nd April.
It is thought that the fire was started deliberately and was caused by two large metal bins that were pushed up against a door and set alight.
Detective Constable Colin Knight said: “We’re keeping an open mind and appealing for witnesses. We don’t know at this stage what the motive was.”
Anwar Hussain, the mosque’s cultural secretary, said: “People are going to be very upset when they come for prayers,” he said. “But we will tell them to remain calm. The investigation is ongoing but my opinion is that it was deliberate. The police response has been very good, they will be checking CCTV footage from the cameras in the street, and we hope they will catch the culprits.”
An investigation into the arson attack is now underway.
Residents risked fine tackling garden fire with hosepipe!
Residents in Ashby Avenue, Chessington chose to ignore the UK hosepipe ban when a fire broke out in a garden.
Firefighters were called to the scene but as the fire was spreading quickly, the occupants decided to tackle the fire themselves using hosepipes.
Keith Banks who witnessed the incident said: “The fence was on fire so we had to use the hosepipe even though the ban comes in today. I am sure we will be ok and won’t get fined for putting out a fire.”
Fiona Walls who also witnessed the incident said: “It was right up there. There were plumes of black smoke. It was huge. I heard it was a bonfire they were having in the back. It was very scary at first but the firefighters came quickly.”
A spokesperson for London Fire Brigade said: “Two fire engines attended the scene on Ashby Avenue today at 4pm. The ground floor and some part of the first floor and an area external decking was on fire been have now been extinguished. The cause of the fire is not yet known. The fire has since been put out by crews from Surbiton and Hayes, with no injuries reported.”
Let’s hope these quick thinking folk don’t get fined £1000 for breaking the ban!
Baby product business destroyed in fire
45 firefighters attended a huge fire which ripped through buildings at a Granby Industrial Estate on 5th April.
Baby & Me and JMK Auto Repairs were both damaged in the fire. It is thought that the fire started at Baby and Me UK which sells prams, cots, car seats and baby products.
A spokesperson for Baby and Me said: “It all feels like a bad dream, but we have just got to keep going. Business was booming and internet sales were going really well. We were hoping to open a shop in Weymouth soon. We’ve lost everything. All these piles of stuff were thousands of pounds worth of stock which was only delivered on Thursday morning. It’s going to take some time to build it back up again. We will have to start again somewhere else. I am grateful for everybody’s help and to the fire service for getting it under control. We don’t know how it started at the moment.”
Luke Bennett, owner of JMK Auto Repairs said that he hoped to be running normally again very soon. He said: “I was outside looking at someone’s car when he suddenly said: ‘Look at all that smoke. That’s when I turned and saw it. Our place is okay and we are hoping to start work again on Tuesday. The workshop has not been too badly damaged and from what I can see we should be okay to work next week.”
Mr Bennett added: “We still don’t know why it happened. I don’t know what they’ll do with next door, whether they’ll pull it down or what. We’ve just got a bit of tidying up to do today, but we want customers to know we will be opening.”
Craig Baker from Dorset Fire and Rescue Service’s group manager said: “An investigation has begun into the cause of this fire. This was a very severe fire, which crews managed to get under control by 6.40pm, although they will be remaining on scene for some time yet dampening down.”
Fire crews remained on the scene until Friday afternoon dampening down the area. An investigation in to the cause of the fire will be carried out.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that you:
‘must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed’
This means that all companies as a first point in their Fire Safety must complete a Fire Risk Assessment. This must be carried out by a competent person, who is trained to perform risk assessments.
Thatched cottage seriously damaged in fire
A thatched cottage suffered extensive damaged as a fire ripped through its roof.
Firefighters attended the incident at the home in Broughton Hackett, near Pershore at around 7.30pm on Sunday.
Group Commander Phil Russell said: “Thatched roof fires are always a challenge and this was a particularly difficult one. The thatch on the roof of the cottage was especially thick, with a metal mesh holding it in place, and it was arduous work for the crews as they cut away the metal to strip the roof and ensure the fire was fully extinguished. As most thatched roof fires are chimney- related, we are advising anyone with a thatched roof to have their chimneys swept on a regular basis and to have them inspected at least once every three years by a registered chimney engineer.”
No one was hurt during the incident. An investigation into the cause of the fire has been launched.