30 firefighters called to blaze in city centre
EMERGENCY services were yesterday at the scene of a city centre fire which broke out in the early hours, with 30 firefighters deployed to the incident at the height of the blaze.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service deployed 30 firefighters, seven fire appliances, including an Aerial Ladder Platform, to tackle the fire at commercial premises on Villiers Street in Sunderland city centre. Fire crews were alerted to the incident at midnight, which focused on two buildings as part of the commercial garage.
A number of road closures were put in place as emergency services worked to make the area safe.
Residents in the surrounding areas were been asked to keep their windows closed due to the large amount of smoke as a result of the fire.
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: “At 1.30am today, we received a report of a fire at a commercial premises on Villiers Street in Sunderland city centre.
“Emergency services are in attendance and due to a large amount of smoke in the area, residents living nearby are advised to keep their windows closed.
“Several road closures have been put in place around Villiers Street and motorists are being asked to use alternative routes.”
A Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we responded to a serious fire at a commercial property in Sunderland in the early hours of Friday morning.
“The fire is under control, and our crews are currently still onscene continuing with firefighting operations and assessing the situation.
“We would still advise local residents to avoid travelling in and around Villiers Street and to await further updates from the service.”