Explosion fear as crews fight blaze

Monday 4th May 2009, 3:00PM BST.

Firefighters at the scene of the fire in Lambledge Lane in Shifnal last night (Picture courtesy of Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service)

Crews tackle the fire. Picture by Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Nearly 40 firefighters tackled a huge blaze at a Shifnal business as it was feared cylinders inside the building could explode.

Three people were evacuated from Deans of Telford Ltd, in Lamledge Lane, as the fire took hold.

Crews from across the county were called in, including extra pumping units due to the poor water supply.

Trains on the main Wolverhampton line were stopped as a 200m safety zone was put up around the scene and police and an ambulance were on standby.

Pete Hawkins, watch manager at Telford Central fire station, said: “The fire involved racking which contained boxes of car parts, pallets, a diesel tank and a number of unknown cylinders.

“We managed to prevent the fire spreading to an engineering works and the fire was under control within 60 minutes.”

He said three people had been in the building, including two workers who reported the fire, and were safely evacuated.

Meanwhile a man was rescued from a burning first floor flat in Bridgnorth today.

Firefighters forced their way into the blazing flat at Waterloo Terrace just after 4.30am. The man was treated for smoke inhalation after the blaze, which involved burning cushions.

View more: Shifnal news, Telford news.