Major fire breaks out in centre of town
PROBE STARTS INTO BLAZE
A sunny Easter Saturday afternoon in Seaham was disturbed yesterday after a large fire broke out in the town centre.
The fire started in a yard at the back of the former Noah’s Ark pub on North Railway Street at around 2.30pm.
A number of vehicles were destroyed in the blaze which took three fire crews to tame and occurred just off the busy seafront.
Everything in the yard looked to have been destroyed and a shipping container housing building materials also sustained heavy damage.
The building most recently housed the Drive 2 Data computer shop but has reportedly been empty for several months following another fire.
Families living near the site com- The fire in Seaham yesterday plained that the derelict building has become a problem in the neighbourhood, with a number of fires reported there over the past few years.
Andy Curry, 40, passed by the fire as he was heading to work at Aldi, along with several shoppers who stopped to watch the blaze.
The back of the store is only a few metres away from the former pub and the situation is becoming a concern to staff there.
He said: “The fence was fully alight and you could tell the whole place was going to be badly damaged.
“It’s very concerning because the building is only about ten feet away from our store.
“Luckily, the wind was blowing in the other direction so we didn’t end up with any damage.
“But we’re frustrated - the authorities need to flatten it so this sort of thing doesn’t keep happening and to keep people safe.”
Three fire engines from Seaham, Peterlee and Wheatley Hill were called to the blaze and were there for most of the afternoon.
Chris Williams, assistant district manager for Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We’ve narrowed the location of the fire’s origin to the back yard.
“There hasn’t been a great deal of damage to the building itself.
“We’ll be carrying out a joint investigation into the start of the fire with the police.”
Durham Constabulary officers were also in attendance in order to keep traffic and pedestrians away from the scene.