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Residents were evacuated after a blaze at a grocery store

Residents were evacuated after a blaze at a grocery store

Residents were evacuated after a blaze at a grocery store

At 2.37am one crew from Sawtry, one crew from Yaxley, one crew from Stanground and one crew from Huntingdon were called to a building fire in Gidding Road, Sawtry.

A fire had started in the store room of a commercial grocery store, located on the ground floor of a parade of shops.

Residents in the properties above the shops were evacuating the building as the fire service arrived.

No one required rescuing and no casualties were reported.

Six firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used two hose reels and one jet to extinguish the fire by 4.07am. Positive pressure ventilation fans were used to fight the fire and then to clear smoke from the property.

The fire started in a store room to the back of the greengrocers, and then spread, but was confined to just the one unit.

Severe smoke damage has been caused to the greengrocers, as has some fire damage.

Station Commander Wayne Swales, incident commander, said: “This could have been a large fire and could have ended very differently, but thanks to the quick intervention and decisions made by the firefighters, it was stopped at the smaller stages.

“Residents living in the flats above were alerted to the fire by their own smoke alarms because there was heavy smoke logging, and they self-evacuated.

“This is a timely reminder that smoke alarms can save lives and we would urge residents to ensure they have correctly fitted working smoke alarms in their properties.”

Crews returned to their stations by 5.15am.

Station Commander Pete Jones, the fire investigator at this incident, concluded the most likely cause of the fire was accidental, by an electrical item.

He said: “When crews arrived, there was a large green commercial wheelie bin against the store room which was on fire and which was believed to have spread inside.

“On further investigation, it appears the fire started inside, most probably involving a large electrical appliance, and then spread through the store room to a large wooden vent, which opened on to the wheelie bin store.

“Two very important safety messages here are to make sure all electrical appliances are fused correctly and are regularly tested by qualified engineers. Also, we would urge people – and businesses – to store wheelie bins away from their property.”