Homes lose power after metal thieves set fire to telegraph pole
A gang of thieves have set fire to a telegraph pole in an attempt to steal copper cable.
The fire caused many local homes and businesses to lose power.
The fire was started in the early hours of Thursday, 29th November near to the Cybi Retail Park in Kingsland Road Holyhead.
Investigating officer PC Joe Hawken from Holyhead Police Station said: “This was a totally mindless and dangerous act as thousands of volts of electricity run through these cables and the consequences of this criminality could have been fatal. We believe the offenders started the fire sometime after midnight and at about 5am that morning the electricity ‘tripped’ knocking off power to a large area of Kingsland and some local businesses. When Scottish Power attended the disruption they discovered the damage and alerted police. I can only assume the fire and subsequent reaction caused such noise that they ran from the scene no doubt contemplating just how close they came to being killed for a relatively small amount of copper.”
PC Hawken later added: “People often think stealing from large corporations is a victimless crime however the consequences are stark and can affect the whole community. Not only have these mindless idiots narrowly escaped death but they also caused a power loss to several households and two local supermarkets causing inconvenience and hardship to hundreds. I would therefore appeal to the community if they saw any suspicious activity in Cybi Retain Park during the early hours of Thursday morning, or knows who is responsible for this act to contact me by phoning 101.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact North Wales Police on 101 or alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 and quote RC12197057.
Large blaze breaks out at North Berwick fire station
Around 40 firefighters have been tackling a large fire at the fire station in North Berwick.
The fire broke out at around 5am on Monday and was dealt with by crews from East Linton, Haddington, Dunbar, Newcraighall, Tranent, an Incident Support Unit from Marionville and a Command Support Unit from Liberton.
Lothian and Borders Fires and Rescue Service have confirmed that the building and two appliances which were inside the building at the time of the fire have been badly damaged.
Eye witness, Craig McLaren, said: “I arrived this morning at about 5.20am and saw smoke and thought someone was burning something. I went over to investigate and the fire station was on fire. By 5.30am, the station was in flames. When the flames broke through it was a blaze of fire probably about 50m above the roof, it was ferocious. My main worry was there could have been an explosion.”
Another eye witness who works at Castle Cottage Interiors across near to the station said: “I noticed something was wrong when I came to work at seven this morning. I panicked at first because I thought it was our workshop on fire. There were no flames but there was lots of smoke.”
A spokeswoman for the fire and rescue service said: “Firefighters are working very hard to bring the fire at North Berwick’s retained station under control. There is still heavy smoke coming from the blaze and police are in attendance to assist early morning commuters trying to access the train station, which is at the rear of the fire station.”
The spokeswoman added: “A risk assessment was carried out and as smoke was blowing towards the sea it was deemed safest to leave residents in a nearby housing estate indoors and clear from the worst of the smoke and the cold weather. Crews have been working very hard in difficult weather conditions to extinguish the blaze. Fire investigation is on the scene but it is too early to say what caused the fire.”
Londonderry hospital reopens after two fires in two weeks
A hospital in Londonderry which has been partly closed due to two fires breaking out within two weeks has been deemed safe to use again by the health minister Edwin Poots.
Seven wards at Altnagelvin Hospital were evacuated last week after a fire started on the roof of the building.
Mr Poots said: “I wouldn’t want people to become frightened or afraid of actually using the facility. An investigation is being carried out, and I wouldn’t want to prejudge it, but the fire service are following a particular lead and I would be fairly confident that it will be proved that it was not the fabric of the building that was the problem. This building isn’t sitting with faulty wiring which is causing fires in it – that isn’t the case.”
SDLP representative, Pat Ramsey had voiced his concerns as to the safety of the building and demanded an inspection of the building. Mr Ramsey said: “It is imperative, absolutely essential, that the department of health or other bodies who have a jurisdiction in this – health and safety – carry out an inspection of the tower block as it is commonly known.”
Geraldine Hillick, the hospital’s director of acute services said: “If we deemed the area unsafe for patients we wouldn’t have been using it, so from our point of view the wards were safe for the patients to be cared for in.”
Barry McDowell from the Fire service said the cause of the fire was under investigation but arson is not suspected at this time. It is likely that the fire started accidentally in a plant room on the roof.
Mr McDowell said: “We believe a water pipe melted, and a lot of water then started coming down through the hospital.”
Around 120 patients had to be moved from the affected wards on Friday night but the trust has said that five out of the seven wards evacuated are now operating normally.
14 die in German workshop fire
Fourteen people have been killed after a huge blaze broke out at a workshop for disabled people in south-western Germany.
The fire occurred at the centre run by the Caritas charity in the town of Titisee-Neustadt.
It is not yet known what caused the fire but local media has reported that there may have been an explosion at the workshop.
Mayor of Titisee-Neustadt said: “It is devastating – we now have to find out how it happened”
Alexander Widmaier from the local fire department said that crews were at the scene within six minutes but on arrival the building was already in flames and filled with smoke.
A spokesman for the local police force said: “We can tell you that we have 14 dead. The process of identification is on-going,” and that it would “take days” to establish what caused the fire.
Eight others were injured in the fire but all are in a stable condition.
100 firefighters tackle huge fire at Midlands distillery
Over 100 firefighters have been tackling a huge fire at the Alcohols Ltd distillery in Langley Green.
The fire broke out at around 10.00am on 27th November. Nearby homes have been evacuated due to thick smoke and the risk of explosions and one man has been taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham suffering from burns.
West Midlands Fire Service confirmed that fire crews from across the West Midlands would remain at the scene overnight. The fire has destroyed most of the 3 storey building.
Sandwell Council confirmed that it was using Moat Farm Junior School as a refuge for the people who had been forced to evacuate their homes.
Eye witness, Kerry Hawkins, said: “I heard the explosions and saw thick black smoke in the air and the next thing we know we had police officers knocking on our door. We’ve been out since about half past nine this morning and don’t know when we’re going to be allowed back.”
Chief Inspector Ian Marsh said: “People are starting to return from work and school and we need anyone trying to either head home, or pass through the affected area, to be aware that they need to make alternative plans.”
A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said a man in his 20s had been treated at the scene for burns to his back and a hand before being taken to the specialist burns unit at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Another witness, Tony Kirkham, said: “We saw a Land Rover parked opposite the factory go up in flames, there was nothing we could do to stop it. You could also see the window frames melting in people’s houses. It was scary.”
The Environment Agency also attended the incident to check on the environmental impact of the fire.