Blaze takes hold at pet shop
NO ANIMALS INJURED DURING ‘SIGNIFICANT FIRE’ IN TOWN CENTRE
THE owners of a local pet shop business are lucky to be alive after a fire broke out at their store.
Firefighters were called to the blaze at 1st 4 Pets in Bath Street, Ilkeston, at 4.32pm on Saturday. There they found the first floor and roof engulfed in flames.
Incident commander Steve Ratcliffe said there “were no pets inside during the fire” and that the business owner and his family had tried to put the blaze out.
The fire chief said: “The business owner and his family were in the building at the time of the fire, they attempted to tackle the fire without success. “They got themselves out OK.” Fire crews from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire attended the scene, where thick black smoke could be seen billowing into the sky. On arrival, Mr Ratcliffe, of Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, said smoke was coming from the roof and flames from the windows. “It’s a significant fire,” he said. “At the moment we’re just damping it down, the fire’s gone from the first floor through the roof and it’s also come down into the ground floor as well,” he said. Witnesses said they hoped no animals were hurt. Tina Barsby, 62, who works at Cashino in Bath Street, said: “As soon as I heard about it I kept thinking ‘those poor animals.’” Trev Jolly, 66, said: “You can see the smoke rising. I’ve never seen this many fire trucks.” The fire service issued an update just before midnight. They said: “Incident ongoing, fast actions from initial crews have undoubtedly saved property here!”
The business owner and his family were in the building... they attempted to tackle the fire without success. Steve Ratcliffe