Hampshire supermarket destroyed in freezer blaze
A Co-op supermarket in Hampshire has been destroyed by a fire which is believed to have started in a freezer.
Fire Crews attended the incident at the shop in Cowplain, Waterlooville at around 3pm on Saturday afternoon after smoke was seen coming from a unit in the shop.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue said the building in Milton Road was “rapidly engulfed by fire” and firefighters inside the building were forced to withdraw before the flames caused the roof to collapse.
Three people required treatment at the scene for the effects of smoke inhalation and one person was taken to hospital.
It is thought that the fire may have been caused by an electrical fault in a freezer.
Phil Ponsonby, from Southern Co-operative, said: “We are very proud of the action that our colleagues in the store took to evacuate the building quickly, ensuring that no customers and colleagues were hurt. All colleagues undertake fire evacuation training and this paid off on Saturday. The store has been extensively damaged and will remain closed until further notice. We hope to be able to confirm the cause of the fire once a forensic investigation has been undertaken.”
Firefighters remained at the scene on Sunday for several hours, damping down to prevent the fire from reigniting.
Victorian mill destroyed in blaze
A huge fire broke out at a disused mill in Blackburn in Lancashire on 23rd October.
Five fire engines and an overhead crane joined the incident at the Apex Mill near Bold Street in Blackburn at around 7pm.
The intense blaze cause the roof of the Victorian building, which was used as a reed and heald making factory until 1933, to collapse.
Local roads around the building were closed off while crews tackled the fire.
One eye witness said: “We saw the smoke at first and thought there was a car on fire nearby. But a few minutes later, the roof went up. It all happened very quickly.”
There were no casualties reported in the incident and the cause of the fire is not yet known.
‘70% burns’ sustained by woman after cigarette sets sofa on fire
An elderly lady was rushed to hospital by air ambulance after she suffered serious burns after a cigarette set fire to her sofa.
Firefighters attended the incident in Castle Dene Court in Jewell Road in Bournemouth on the morning of Saturday 29th September.
The woman was rescued from the sheltered housing accommodation property and transferred to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. She was later transferred to Salisbury District Hospital where there is a specialist burns facility.
Many other residents of the block were evacuated during the incident but were later allowed to return to their homes.
One neighbour who witnessed the incident said: “I heard the alarm and smelt the smoke. The firefighters were with her by the window where she was getting some air and she was taken out on a stretcher. I heard she had 70 per cent burns.”
A second witness, Len Jordan, aged 72 said: “I looked out my door because the fire alarm went off and saw the firemen. They asked us to get out. I had my dressing gown and slippers on outside.”
Fire crews from Redhill, Springbourne and Christchurch attended the incident and took around an hour to fully extinguish the fire. Furniture was destroyed in the fire and the property suffered a large amount of smoke damage.
A spokesperson for Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said: “Crews were called to alarms at a flat in Townsend where they found an elderly woman with burns and a fire in her lounge. The crews immediately and effectively dealt with the fire and rendered first aid to the occupant before medical attention was administered by the ambulance crew. The fire is believed to have started by smoking materials and we would like to remind people of the need to safely dispose of cigarettes and ensure they have working alarms.”
Fire breaks out at South Gloucestershire recycling centre
A large fire broke out at Yates recycling centre in South Gloucestershire in the early hours of the morning on 22nd September.
Three crews were called to the SITA UK’s Sort It centre, on Dean Road, just before 6am.
Firefighters arrive at the scene to find around 120 tonnes of rubbish on fire. They used two jets and breathing apparatus to tackle the fire. Crews remained at the scene for several hours.
A spokesperson for the site said: “No major damage inflicted but we needed to assess everything thoroughly over the weekend. We placed a member of staff at the gates over the weekend to redirect residents to one of the three other Sort It centres. We would like to thank residents who turned up with their household waste over the weekend for their patience and understanding.”
He later added: “The cause of the fire is not known but it appears that something in the black bag waste deposited was too hot and caused the fire. We have checked our infrastructure and utility services and no fault was found with those so that seems the likely reason.”
Blaze at Derbyshire recycling centre
A fire broke out at a recycling plant in Stanton-by-Dale on 15th September and burned for several days.
Contractors at the site worked alongside firefighters, using diggers to move unaffected wood and reducing the amount of recycled material nearby.
Bryan Bennett, area manager, said: “Firefighters are continuing to make progress with the fire under extremely arduous conditions. We are constantly making tactical assessments of the fire and are working with all the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the local community and the environment.”
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service advised local residents to keep their windows and doors shut wherever possible due to the amount of smoke coming from the site.
Fire teams worked closely with the Environment Agency to prevent water used to extinguish the blaze affecting local water supplies. Lee Whitehouse, major incident duty officer for the Environment Agency, said: “We have been at the Erewash Canal following reports that run off from the firewater had got into the canal and that a small number of dead fish and fish in distress had been seen. We have been using oxyjets to increase oxygen levels in the canal. We currently have six oxyjets operating along a 2.5km stretch of the canal, which will continue until oxygen levels have improved. We have also reduced the amount of water running into the canal by diverting it to a Severn Trent Water sewer.”