Shrewsbury fire station manager issues thanks following evacuation at complex workshop fire
The manager of a Shropshire fire station has issued thanks after a complex workshop fire caused residents to be evacuated.
The blaze broke out in a large workshop garage down Hanwood Road at about 5.30pm on Thursday.
Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service sent six engines and the ambulance service was also in attendance, though there were no casualties. The road was closed for several hours during the night and early into the following morning.
The fire was immediately escalated to a Level 2 incident due to its complexity involving oxy-acetylene cylinders stored within.
This is a gas regularly used for welding and when handled, stored and transported correctly, is perfectly safe.
Shrewsbury Fire Station Manager, Adam Tempest, said: "We’d like to thank residents for working with us and for their patience while we worked with emergency planning from Shropshire Council to reach a joint decision to evacuate as a precautionary measure.
“Crews did a great job and worked hard under challenging conditions having to respond and adapt quickly to rapidly changing circumstances.
“Fires like this which may seem straightforward initially can quickly become far more complex and it shows again how important our on-call crews are to the service and the county as a whole.”
Further on-call crews were called in from nearby areas to support, including Baschurch, Hodnet, Minsterley, and Tweedale.
The wholetime crew from Telford Central were also in attendance along with specialist officers from operations, Hazmat and safety officers.
Mr Tempest added: “Thanks to the assertive actions of all the emergency services, the fire was brought under control and no one was injured in the incident.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Crews used breathing apparatus, covering jets, ground monitors, main jets and thermal imaging cameras to tackle the blaze.
