Fire crews still at blaze garage

FIRE crews were still at the scene this morning following the major fire which devastated a commercial garage at Warrington last night.
Crews were damping down and monitoring the situation to make sure there was no danger of a fresh outbreak at the premises in Marsh House Lane.
Dozens of homes were evacuated last night as flames ripped through the premises close to the main Manchester-Liverpool railway.
Firefighters from Warrington and Birchwood, plus a hazardous materials unit, were involved in tackling the blaze, which broke out around 5pm.
Police set up a 200 metre cordon around the site and evacuated residents of nearby homes and other properties. Families were moved to a temporary rest centre set up at Warrington Wolves’ Halliwell Jones stadium.
Rail services were halted because of the risk of explosions caused by gas cylinders on the premises.
Nearby roads were closed and traffic diverted. Motorists were advised to avoid the area.
Later, fire crews carried out tests on suspect cylinders which suggested they had been cooled to such extent as to no longer be hazardous and the cordon around the area was reduced. Rail services also resumed.
But although most residents were allowed to return to their homes, a small number of houses closest to the blaze were still ruled out-of-bounds until today.
A police spokeswoman said residents wanting to find out if they could return home should go to the Fairfield Neighbourhood Project centre, where details were available of which houses were still within the cordon.
The spokeswoman added: “The emergency services would to thank all residents for their patience during the incident. Local people have been calm and support of the efforts to maintain safety during what could have been a very dangerous situation.”