Location: Thornton Hough, Wirral
Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service are in attendance at a building fire on Manor Road in Thornton Hough, Wirral.
Crews were alerted a little after 9pm on Saturday 5th February 2022 and four fire engines and an aerial appliance were on scene shortly after.
This is a three storey premises, with fire alarms actuating in multiple locations.
Following further inspection of the premises, fire spread was detected in the roof space and the Service Drone has been deployed to assist situational awareness at scene.
Firefighting activities include one team of two firefighters in breathing apparatus (BA) using one hose reel jet.
A further 4 BA wearers are fighting the fire with a high pressure hose reel in use.
8 fire engines are now in attendance.
UPDATE 00.00 - Sunday 6th February
The incident has been sectorised, the aerial appliance and 1 main branch is in use in Sector 1. Sector 3 comprises of 2 main jets. A 13.5m ladder has been erected and salvage plan has been implemented. The Incident Command Unit is on scene to support firefighting activities.
Merseyside Police are in attendance assisting with cordon.
UPDATE 08.15
Firefighting has continued throughout the night at this three storey, grade 2 listed building approximately 2000 square metres, in what has been a challenging incident.
Emergency Services at scene alongside us are Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service, North West Ambulance Service and Merseyside Police – we would like to thank our blue light colleagues for supporting our response. We would also like to thank the Salvation Army for their attendance and providing hot meals to those on site.
United Utilities, the Environmental Agency and Wirral Council have all been advised of the scale of this ongoing incident.
A second aerial appliance has been utilised at scene with a high volume pump and 1 main jet in use for external firefighting activities.
Multi agency meetings have taken place at regular intervals throughout the early hours of this morning and a full evacuation of the property has been carried out with a comprehensive search audit completed.
A structural engineer has been requested with a full structural survey taking place shortly after, as a result, internal firefighting has ceased and safety cordens have been advised and put in place on site.
Sector 1 has been scaled back and no longer in use. A 135 ladder and a 9m ladder are in use, in addition to 2 triple extension ladders, 2 misting lancers and 1 main jet.
Relief crews have been exercised throughout this ongoing incident.
Manor Road remains closed in both directions and traffic management is in place, please avoid the area.
This is an ongoing incident, more updates will follow when information becomes available.
UPDATE 13.00
This incident remains ongoing.
Following a further multi agency meeting this morning at 11.15am, Sectors are as follows:
One aerial appliance in use stripping roof tiles and one hose reel jet being utilised to hotspot.
Two main branches are in place but activity has ceased, one hose reel jet with misting lance is in use within the roof space to prevent fire spread.
Currently no firefighting actions taking place in Sector 3. However, ground monitoring for flare-ups continues, while in Sector 4 one main branch is in use.
UPDATE 16.00
Our crews remain at the scene of this substantial fire to a very complex building. Firefighters are working around the clock with relief crews continuing our efforts to bring this incident to close.
We have met with the owners of the property and provided an update following the latest multi agency meeting at scene. The following firefighting activities are ongoing.
Sector 3 has 2 main branches hot spotting on the ground and first floors of the building.
In Sector 4 we are monitoring the apex's of the roof for structural damage and hot spotting.
More updates will follow when information becomes available.
UPDATE 11.45 - Monday 7th February
Our crews remain on scene at this three storey premises in Thornton Hough, Wirral, however, our resources have been scaled back significantly from yesterday’s firefighting activities.
From 6pm on Sunday evening 6 fire engines began providing rolling relief cover every 30 minutes.
One aerial appliance was in use for the removal of roof tiles, and provided further survey of the roof line, while one hose reel jet was being utilised on the ground floor.
Our operational drone capability was deployed with thermal imaging to monitor temperatures of areas affected by fire and provide an additional overview.
Crews continued to monitor conditions and ambient temperatures overnight using the aerial appliance and thermal imaging camera.
Temperatures have decreased through the night and crews are damping down affected areas with a high pressure hose reel as monitoring continues with no increase to temperatures or fire spread.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
UPDATE 15.10
Incident Commander Ben Ryder said: ‘On Saturday evening fire crews attended a large fire at Thornton Manor, fortunately staff and guests were evacuated safely from a wedding reception being held and no one was hurt. The incident was prolonged and extremely challenging, with firefighters working at height in difficult weather conditions in a complex grade 2 listed building.
Firefighters worked relentlessly night and day throughout the weekend to ensure the fire was fully extinguished and I would like to express my thanks to them for their persistence and determination. Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service remains at the scene and a full investigation is being carried out.’
Any further updates will be provided here when information becomes available.