Drone footage courtesy of local resident Stuart Hamlett
VIDEO: AT least four fire engines, including an aerial appliance, are fighting a major blaze at a derelict Indian restaurant in the Longbarn area of Warrington.
The blaze is at the old Bay Leaf restaurant on Harpers Road, previously well known as Smithy’s.
A number of roads, including Harpers Road, were sealed off.
Firefighters, two wearing breathing apparatus, are using main jets to fight the fire.
Members of the public are being advised to avoid the area.
Smoke from the fire could be seen from all over the town shortly after the fire broke out just after 6pm.
At 8.10pm one fire vehicle attended nearby Carpenter Grove to cool down properties backing onto the site.
At 9pm relief crews were brought in to take over from those who had been on site since the start of the incident.
10.50pm – Road closures lifted and residents advised the keep windows closed due to fumes.
Picture Cheshire Fire & Rescue
Video footage Nathan Walker
5 Comments
Crikey that’s one huge fire. I hope nobody was hurt and that all nearby properties are ok.
Well done to the fire brigade and other services for keeping it all under control. Seems like the fire brigade have had a very busy week 🙁
We spent many a happy work lunchtime in Smithy’s back in the day and it was our evening haunt too along with the Stocks pub around the corner. Shame it’s burnt down but then again it has been closed down for ages and has only seemed to attract the attention of our Traveller friends passing through needing a car park to descend on.
I suppose looking on the more positive side…… at least the owners wont have to pay for its demolition now….planning permission was approved last August to demolish and replace with apartment for the over 55’s.
Amazing how many derelict buildings end up going up in flames – especially when they have planning permission for re-development.
Yes, far too many to be unhappy happenstances. In these days of austerity perhaps WBC should consider imposing a phoenix tariff on those schemes that “rise out of the flames.”
One of the most worrying aspects of incidences of ‘spontaneous combustion’ is that many of the buildings that ‘ignite’ are those which contain asbestos (extremely expensive to remove safely).
If a building is burned down this dangerous substance is dispersed into the atmosphere with long term health implications for residents for miles around.
I think owners of buildings with asbestos who do not have sufficient measures in place to prevent fire – from whatever cause – should be prosecuted and jailed.
It’s clear that most of these fires are linked to property developers wanting to build.
Even with listed buildings, it is common knowledge that the council take ‘back-handers’ from these developers, then suddenly a fire happens and then it has to be demolished.
We live in a very bent and corrupt world.