Firefighters who battled to bring a blaze at a well-known Newcastle nightspot under control have been praised by bosses at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service.
Emergency services received a call at 4.42pm on Tuesday to reports a fire in the roof space of the Quilted Camel on the Quayside.
At the height of the blaze, almost 40 firefighters from across the service area were involved in bringing the fire under control.
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A number of surrounding buildings had to be evacuated for safety precautions, and one member of the public had to be treated for a minor injury at the scene after attempting to extinguish the fire themselves.
The owners of the bar have downplayed the severity of the fire and expect to be trading again today.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Peter Heath, said: “I want to thank our firefighters and fire control for their quick response to this incident.
“Their professionalism and fast action has helped save a building of historical importance.
“We had to use a number of different techniques to navigate around the building due to the lack of visibility and the building layout.
“I also want to thank our blue light colleagues for their support and response to the incident yesterday. As always we work together to keep our communities safe from harm.”
Speaking at the scene on Tuesday, incident manager Andy Willford said the nature of the building, which is Grade II Listed, had presented crews with some challenges.
He said: "We were called to a fire in the roof space of the Quilted Camel public house. At the height of the fire, six fire engines, a command unit and a number of senior officers were in attendance.
"It is a very old, complex building which presented a number of challenges for teams."
Mr Willford added that the fire had been brought under control and specialist fire investigators were on the scene.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said crews left the scene just after 9.20pm on Wednesday evening, with an investigation expected to begin today (Thursday) with support from Northumbria Police.
Anyone with information about the fire is being asked to contact the police via the ‘Tell Us Something’ page of their website or by calling 101 quoting reference number NP-20220302-0695.
Alternatively you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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