A number of houses had to be evacuated after a serious fire which started in a garden almost spread to people's homes. The blaze broke out at 6pm on Thursday, June 30, on Melbourne Road in Stapleford.
Crews from Stapleford, Ilkeston, Highfields and Long Eaton were all dispatched to the scene, along with police officers and even a specialist drone. The fire, which broke out in a back garden of a row of terraced houses, led to smoke being seen from miles around before the fire service got it under control.
Those who were evacuated have since been allowed into their homes and the incident has been scaled down by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue. Work is now underway to establish the cause of the blaze.
Read more here:
Council update on Mansfield Road roadworks causing gridlock in Nottingham
Police release CCTV image after woman hit over head with bottle on bus
Kevin Tedds, Watch Manager at Stapleford Fire Station, told Nottinghamshire Live: "When we arrived, there was a serious fire which was threatening a row of terraced properties and crews have worked really quickly and really hard to get in there and stop the fire spreading to the properties. We had four fire engines, a specialist officer, police, a specialist drone, which were all called to the scene to bring it to a conclusion.
"We did have to evacuate a number of properties for a while, however everybody is back in their properties now and there is no injuries. It broke out in the garden - we're trying to work to ascertain what the cause is at the moment. We don't know the cause just yet - we're not likely to know until tomorrow morning. We are just working with crime scene investigators, dampening it all down. We're going to be here until at least 12am and then we'll be back throughout tomorrow."
Mr Tedds urged everyone in Nottinghamshire to make sure they have working smoke alarms - free ones are available from Stapleford Fire Station for anyone who does not have a working alarm.
Stapleford Councillor Richard McRae, who had been out directing traffic away from the scene, said: "You could see the smoke for miles - we’re dead lucky because we have the best fire brigade in the world. They got it under control really quick." He added that there was a terrific sense of community in the area.
One Stapleford resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "You could see the smoke from a mile off - I just came here to see what was happening. I couldn’t believe it. But it looks OK now. It’s pretty scary for something like this to happen as there’s quite a few families and old folks who live round here."
Read more here: