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.”
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.
Two huge fires broke out in St Albans within 12 hours of each other
Around 10,000 tonnes of recycled wood caught fire at around midnight on Saturday, 10th November and just 12 hours later, wooden pallets containing thousands of plastic trays were alight at Glinwell nursery in Hatfield Road.
Several roads around the recycling centre were closed off and many residents were also without water and electricity.
A spokesman for Affinity Water said: “During peak water demand times, our customers in the area may have no water available to them; however the fire and rescue services are continuing to work with us to reduce their water needs during these peak times. We also understand that some customers are experiencing a drop in pressure and we anticipate these fluctuations in pressure to continue for the duration of the fire.”
Fire crews spent around five days tackling the blaze at the Potters Crouch recycling centre. A St Albans firefighter confirmed that there were four pumps on scene trying to extinguish the fire and they expected it to burn for up to seven days.
This is not the first fire at the recycling depot – four years ago a fire at the site burned for over three months.
Local Councillor Tony Swendell said: “The residents of Potters Crouch have had enough. I believe it should be closed down – it’s detrimental to the environment. Some of the problems that it’s caused are traffic gridlock, loss of power to the locality, as well as loss of water pressure and loss of air quality.”
Ten fire engines attended the fire at the Glinwell Nursery which started just after midday and sent clouds of thick black smoke across the area. Residents were advised to keep their windows shut due to burning plastic on site.
An investigation into the cause of both fires will be carried out.
Residents rescued from flats – arson suspected
Ten people had to be rescued from a block of flats in Scotland on 4th November after a fire broke out at around 3.30am. The people were trapped on the upper floors of the building and could not escape due to the intense flames and smoke.
No-one was injured in the incident but two of the residents were treated for smoke inhalation.
Strathclyde Police has launched an investigation with the fire service to find out what caused the blaze. It is thought that the fire was started deliberately.
Detective Inspector John Shaw of East Kilbride CID said: “This was a terrifying experience for the occupants of the flats, and made even worse by the fact that early investigations have told us that the fire was started deliberately by an unknown person or persons. Thankfully, no one was injured in this incident; however, if it was not for the swift action of the occupants and the emergency services then we may have been dealing with serious injuries or even fatalities.”
Fire at Great Yarmouth charity shop
Fifteen people were evacuated from their homes in the early hours of 30th October after a fire broke out at the St Elizabeth Hospice charity shop in Great Yarmouth.
The alarm was raised by Emma Trudgill who lives near to the shop. Miss Trudgill said: “We checked around the flat to see everything was all right and then Zachary went downstairs. He looked outside and saw smoke and when he touched the glass window of the St Elizabeth Hospice charity shop he realised it was hot. We called 999 and also began alerting other neighbours.”
Three fire crews attended the incident on King Street at around 3.45am and initially feared that people may be inside the property. Thankfully all people nearby were accounted for and the fire was extinguished within the hour.
Alison Lanchester, director of income generation at the Ipswich-based hospice, said: “It sounds as if the fire has been very extensive. It is one of our recently opened shops and our manager is quite upset. It is a shame as it is all donated stock and the shop trades very well.”