A5 closes after lorry catches fire
The drama unfolded shortly before noon yesterday when a blaze engulfed a lorry on the Woodcote Island, near Shrewsbury.
The A5 was closed in both directions for several hours as 20 firefighters and a fire officer from Shrewsbury tackled the blaze.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue said it had taken three crews and other units about two and a half hours to deal with.
One eyewitness said: “The lorry cab was completely gutted and firefighters also had to douse a hedge with water to put out the flames.
There were also heavy delays southbound.
The road was fully reopened by 8pm after the burnt out lorry had been removed.
House fire kills toddler and his teenage brother and sister
Fire tore through a house in Devon and a boy of three and his teenage brother and sister died.
A man, believed to be their father, raced back into the burning house to try to rescue the children. The man was treated for injuries and released along with another child. The dead teenagers, a 17-year-old girl and her 18-year-old brother, and the three-year-old boy were among eight people in the terraced house in Honiton, Devon, when the fire broke out on Friday.
Air ambulance flew them to Exeter hospital where they died with family at their bedside. The boy died in a Bristol burns unit several hours later.
Seven people in the house were from one family and the eighth was a friend staying over. The house is near the town’s fire station but area commander Nick Manning said the blaze was “well developed” when firefighters arrived minutes after the alarm was raised at 7.30am.
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall police said: “Our thoughts are with the family at this time and investigations are ongoing.”
Sauna sparks fire in Leeds hotel
A fire broke out in a Leeds city centre hotel last week after a piece of wood fell onto hot coals in a sauna. The incident happened at the Hilton hotel, Neville Street just after 7am when fire crews arrived.
A spokesman said the fire was out on arrival, adding they were called as a precaution.
He said: “A piece of wood fell onto the coals and ignited. There was some minor smoke damage but no-one was injured. Hotel staff extinguished the fire themselves.”
Fire destroys ex-Beatles and Stones gig venue in Kings Heath
Last week the site of a historic former Birmingham music venue which hosted The Beatles and Rolling Stones was destroyed in a fire.
The premises which was operating as a Cash Converters store, is on one of the main routes into Kings Heath city centre
The fire broke out at 5.00am and the police cordoned off Kings Heath High Street between Popular Road and Silver Street. Officers said they were treating it as suspicious. No-one was hurt.
Southwark museum and library blaze tackled by fire crews
Last week a fire broke out in a building in Southwark which houses a library, a museum and the council “one stop shop”.
The blaze in the four-storey building in Wansey Street, Walworth was tackled by almost 120 firefighters and 20 fire engines, with the roof of the library and museum on fire..
30 people were evacuated from inside the building, which houses Newington Library and no injuries have been reported.
Councillor Peter John, leader of the council, said: “It is too early to say what the cause of the fire is and how long services from that building will be suspended for.
“Whilst our first concern is for the safety of residents and our staff, we are also worried about possible damage to the museum’s collection.”
It is not known how the blaze started, the fire brigade said.
Image courtesy of BBC News