Hucknall sub-station fire believed to be arson
A serious fire at a sub-station in the Nottingham town of Hucknall is now being treated as arson, according to a statement issued by the local fire service.
The fire broke out at the Bolsover Road facility on Wednesday 12th January, following a reported explosion. The fire caused absolute chaos as power to hundreds of properties cut out and the residents of houses close to the facility had to be evacuated on mass. Nearby roads were closed and local tram services were disrupted.
Despite the disruption and chaos, fire crews ensured that no one was injured in the incident.
After the fire was extinguished and services in the area returned to normal, a police investigation team moved in to establish the cause of the fire. Detective Constable Louise Forster stated:
“As a result of a detailed forensic examination we now believe this fire was caused deliberately.”
The police have also appealed for any witnesses to the suspected arson to come forward. It is not yet known exactly how the fire was started, or what fire safety procedures (generally included in fire risk assessments) were in place at the facility.
Fire service assists in safe evacuation of flight passengers
Almost 200 people had to be safely removed from an aircraft when it went off the runway at Newcastle Airport recently.
The plane concerned was a Thomson-run flight from Lanzarote and Tyne and Wear Fire Service have confirmed that although it remained on the asphalt it had still “gone very slightly off the runway”.
The group manager for the fire service, Keith Carruthers, said that there had been no injuries in this particular incident.
The airport’s own fire service worked with regular firefighters to tackle this emergency situation which occurred just after 9pm at night.
Mr Carruthers explained that the firefighters helped to evacuate the 196 passengers of the incoming Boeing 747 by making use of the plane’s stairs.
He said:
“There were no injuries reported from any of the passengers. They seemed fine in all honesty, it’s just they were disembarking in a different position. Most of them did not realise anything was different.
“The plane had gone very slightly off the runway. It’s still on the hard-standing Tarmac, it’s not on the grass.
“With the icy conditions we are still in attendance assisting the airport fire service get the plane in the correct position.”
There was no visible damage done to the plane, although an inquiry will now begin as the Air Accident Investigation Branch look to establish what happened that day.
Mass evacuation following city centre fire in Nottingham
It has been reported that around 1,400 people had to be safely escorted from a Nottingham city centre nightclub due to a blaze breaking out in an empty building nearby.
Fire crews were called to Goldsmith Street just after 1am where the Rescue Rooms nightclub as well as student accommodation in the vicinity of the building had to be evacuated.
Other precautionary measures included the closing off of Goldsmith Street and Talbot Street, while tram network services were suspended.
It was confirmed that it was all carried out safely by the fire service working with police and there were no injuries as a result of the fire.
Inspector Ian Cresswell of Nottinghamshire Police reiterated this when he said:
“Nobody has been hurt as a result of the fire and people were evacuated as a precautionary measure for their personal safety.
“The fire has now been contained and we are continuing to assist the fire service while they carry out their work at the scene.”
The fire in the disused building caused disruption to commuters looking to get to work the next morning as fire crews stayed at the scene to ensure the structure was safe.
An investigation is now underway into the cause of the blaze.
Plymouth hotel evacuated after leisure area blaze
Over 200 guests staying at the Holiday Inn in the city centre of Plymouth had to be evacuated recently following a fire which began in the hotel.
All the guests managed to escape safely and it was confirmed that nobody had been injured in the fire, which originated from the second floor, with the automatic alarm sounding shortly after 12am.
At the height of the blaze 85 firefighters from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service were on hand to try and keep it under control. The fire crews managed to contain the fire in the leisure area, which contains a swimming pool, and they prevented it from spreading to the rest of the building.
The main damage to the building was in a conference room where the ceiling had fallen in.
Due to the hotel fire, the guests were taken to other hotels in the vicinity, while a number of roads in the area were closed.
Group Commander Paul Bray, speaking to BBC News, said:
“All the guests have been safely evacuated although some didn’t leave at the time of the alarm.
“They had to be woken by fire crews; as part of the search they found them in their rooms asleep.
“Thankfully, fire precautions built into the hotel stopped the fire from spreading into the residential area.”
Fire Evacuation at Ryder Cup Hotel
Residents of the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport had to be evacuated in the early hours of Monday morning after a faulty fire alarm was activated in the hotels underground car park.
The venue which is currently hosting the 3 day Ryder Cup Tournament was evacuated in the early hours of Monday after a fire alarm went off. Guests and team players had to leave the building until fire fighters had established that it was a false alarm.
A video of the incident with the message “Sitting on the curb outside the hotel at 1am with everyone, full fire alarm in the hotel. What a shocker.” was posted on Twitter by Europe Ryder Cup golfer, Ian Poulter.
Tiger Woods and the US team arrived at the resort later that day and were unaffected by the disturbance.