Explosion reported as fire crews battle Plymouth garage inferno

DOZENS of firefighters are battling a huge blaze at a Plymouth garage this morning.

Police say a car repair garage in Greenbank went up in flames shortly before midnight.

A section of Mutley Plain remains closed off at 9am while firefighters wait for structural engineers to inspect the damage.

Two fire crews were still at the scene at 8.30am today.

Witnesses reported hearing an explosion in the area at around 11.25pm on Wednesday.

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Eight fire appliances were called to the inferno in a back lane behind North Hill, a spokeswoman for the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said.

Crews remained at the scene into the early hours of Thursday.

North Hill has been closed to traffic between Clifton Place and its junction with Alexandra Road, while several nearby roads are also shut.

The flames were clearly visible from nearby Mutley Plain as the blaze quickly spread to vehicles inside the garage.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said emergency services were "hopeful" that the blaze had been brought under control by around 1am.

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Just before 1am the incident was escalated to eight fire appliances with the additional appliances coming from Ivybridge, Plympton and Camels Head.

The incident support unit was also requested to provide lighting at the scene.

At 5:30am firefighters said progress was being made at the incident.

A substantial amount of foam concentrate has been used to extinguish the fire.

There are two pumping appliances and a command unit at the incident.

Western Power and BT were also requested to attend to isolate electrics and to check lines to the property.

Plymouth City Council been requested to attend to deal with asbestos contamination and a structural engineer requested due to the current state of the building and the potential for collapse.

Gas canisters and as many as seven vehicles are believed to have gone up in flames during the drama.

The spokesman described the fire as "substantial", but said nobody had been reported injured.

Most nearby residents had been allowed to stay in their homes, he added.

However, they were ordered to close all doors and windows.

The police spokesman said: "We are hopeful that Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service are getting the incident under control.

"We have not got any evacuations ongoing at this time.

"It was quite a big fire, quite substantial, at one stage."

The Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman added that an earlier explosion at the site was a "distinct possibility", but could not be confirmed.

Blue fragments were seen in the sky as a wall of flames erupted at the garage, situated on a backstreet between Greenbank Road and North Hill.

One police officer said there had been an explosion - and warned there was the risk of another - due to bottled of gas potentially still being at the scene.

The cause of the fire is unclear at this time but will be investigated, emergency services said.

Several shocked onlookers praised firefighters and police, who said the blaze was under control by 1.30am.

Zara Powell wrote on Twitter: "The Streets of Plym were like something out of a film 2night.

"Well done all of the emergency services who were on top of things."

And Samuel Woods added: "Horrendous fire. Have been watching helplessly for an hour. Firemen = heroes."

Two fire appliances from Greenbank and one from Crownhill, along with Crownhill's aerial ladder platform, were initially sent to the scene.

A spokeswoman for the fire service said crews confirmed a fire involving a "commercial body repair shop garage".

The workshop was around 30 metres by 20 metres and was "well alight" when the first crews arrived, she said.

Four firefighters donned breathing apparatus as crews set to work to extinguish the flames.

They also used a hose reel jet, a main jet and a compressed air foam branch,

As the fire continued to rage, those at the scene requested a further two fire appliances.

Crews from Plymstock and Yelverton, who were already in Crownhill's station area, were also sent to the area.

By 12.20am crews from Ivybridge, Plympton and Camels Head were also called in, taking the total number of appliances to eight.

According to the fire service, the repair shop and seven vehicles inside it were involved in the fire.

At its height, firefighters used four jets, two hose reels and six breathing apparatus.

The service's incident support unit was also requested to provide lighting at the scene.

The huge blaze comes just days after cost-cutting plans to slash fire cover in Plymouth were revealed.

The kits of all the firefighters involved will need to be sent away for specialist decontamination because of the asbestos in the garage roof.

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