Firefighters smashed through windows to fight a raging blaze inside a former pub.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service received a 999 call at 7.02pm on Wednesday, April 5, reporting the former Chaucer Vaults pub on Chaucer Street in Bootle was on fire. Once six fire engines and one aerial platform arrived at just five minutes later they found all three floors of the building well alight.
Eyewitnesses in the area at the time the blaze broke out say flames could be seen through the windows and coming out of the roof, with smoke pouring into the road. It wasn't long before the roof crumbled and flames could be seen throughout the top floor.
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Firefighters broke through windows to reach the blaze with hoses. The fire service confirmed the North West Ambulance Service was not called to the scene and nobody was believed to be inside the building when the fire started.
Merseyside Police were called to the scene to help with traffic management. The fire service advised people living in the area to make sure their windows and doors were closed as they continued working to extinguish the blaze.
Station Manager Mike Clynch said: “Crews have worked hard to fight this fire which involved all three floors of the building. We thank those in the local area who have taken our advice allowing us to resolve the incident safely”
A spokesperson from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews are likely to be at the property for several more hours while they dampen down. When safe, a joint investigation will begin into the cause of the blaze."
The ECHO has previously reported on the former Chaucer Vaults pub as residents living in the area complained about fly tipping and antisocial behaviour. On Sefton Council's planning application portal, it shows that an application was received in 2016 to change the former Chaucer Vaults pub into an 18 bedroom HMO.
The design and access statement submitted said the pub had been closed for more than 20 years at the time of the application, with the application subsequently being dismissed. Following the application being rejected, a further application asking for planning permission to transform the building into nine self-contained flats was also rejected in February 2017, with the application showing "insufficient regard to policy requirement(s)".
Finally, in September 2017, plans were approved for the building to be transformed into four flats with a communal space on the ground floor. Despite the approval of the plans, the building has been left derelict and run down.
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