Gas blast fears during fire at Meole Brace, Shrewsbury

Residents and businesses had to be evacuated and roads were closed after a blaze broke out at a breakdown recovery garage in Shrewsbury. The action was taken after fears gas cylinders at the site could explode.

A 200-yard cordon was put around EA Downes & Sons Ltd and Central Garage, in Hereford Road, Meole Brace, yesterday.

The incident brought rush hour traffic to a standstill. The fire service remained at the scene today.

Two crews were sent from Shrewsbury to battle the fire which involved a quantity of fuel within the garage.

Firefighters quickly brought it under control just after 2.40pm.

About five homes and several businesses within the cordoned off zone were evacuated, while Hereford Road, Mill Road, Roman Road and Brooklands Bridge were closed causing traffic chaos in the Meole Brace area of the town.

The cordon was relaxed after two hours and roads re-opened at about 4.25pm — but EA Downes and the nearby BP garage were expected to remain cordoned off until this afternoon.

Rob Corfield, Shropshire Fire and Rescue incident commander, said: "The fire started with some fuel within the garage which impinged on the acetylene welding unit."

Dave Simkiss, garage manager at EA Downes, said: "We do not know what started the fire and we will be carrying out an assessment."

Zahid Hussein, who is in charge of the BP garage, said: "We were told to close the station and the pumps because you can't take any risks. I'm just glad nobody was hurt."