This is how firefighters bravely tackled a huge blaze which caused a number of explosions in Wallsend.
Firefighters had their work cut out last Thursday (16 June), spending close to five hours trying to extinguish a blaze near Segedunum, when a large rubber shipping buoy set ablaze.
Four units from Byker, Hebburn, South Shields and Wallsend worked tirelessly for four hours and forty minutes to combat the inferno which began in a remote storage location at around 8.45pm - finally leaving after a successful mission at 01:27am on Friday 17 June.
Read more: Fire crews control Wallsend blaze for almost 5 hours after shipping container sets alight
It was a highly detailed operation involving two main jets, 10,000 litres of water and an abundance of other specialist tools and pieces of apparatus. Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service also had to utilise industry contacts, calling upon forklift drivers to help move obstacles in their way.
Almost one week on and crews are still carrying out enquiries to determine the cause of ignition, with the Environmental Agency also made aware of the incident.
A spokesperson for TWFRS, said: "Last week up to 20 firefighters tackled an unusual fire near to the Segedunum in Wallsend that required a massive 10,000 litres of water. Firefighters had been deployed to a large rubber shipping buoy ablaze on Carville Road by our Fire Control and arrived in just four minutes.
"Upon their arrival on Thursday evening they found a large concrete crash barrier blocking their access to the buoy, also known as a crash bumper, but not to be deterred, they utilised local industry contacts to attain the services of a fork lift to move the obstacle.
"Four appliances from Byker, Hebburn, South Shields and Wallsend then spent four-hours and forty minutes containing the fire and making sure it didn’t spread. It was a detailed operation that involved two main jets, Cobra (high pressure water cutting lance), stihl and reciprocating saws, airbag lifting equipment and winches.
"At times the fire was tricky to contain as firefighters couldn’t access the underside of the buoy due to its weight. This meant the fire kept back-draughting which ignited the fire gases and caused a number of small explosions.
"But our crews are among the most highly trained in the world and they carefully contained the fire until it was extinguished in the early hours of Friday. Luckily nobody was reported to have been injured during the incident and, despite the smoke plumes in the area, there was no risk to the wider public.
"It really was a fantastic effort by Fire Control, our crews and our partner agencies who also assisted the response."
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