Firefighters and Fire Control staff from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service have been praised by bosses after a fire at a historic building.

At 4:42pm on Wednesday (2 March), Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service’s (TWFRS) Fire Control received a call about a fire at a commercial property on the Quayside in Newcastle.

The first of six appliances was on the scene in a matter of minutes followed by an Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) and an Incident Command Unit (ICU).

At the height of the fire, almost 40 firefighters from around the service area were helping battle the blaze.

A number of surrounding buildings had to be evacuated for safety precautions, however one member of the public was treated for a minor injury at the scene having attempted to extinguish the fire themselves.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Peter Heath, said: “I want to thank our firefighters and fire control for their quick response to this incident.

“Their professionalism and fast action has helped save a building of historical importance.

“We had to use a number of different techniques to navigate around the building due to the lack of visibility and the building layout.

“I also want to thank our blue light colleagues for their support and response to the incident yesterday, as always we work together to keep our communities safe from harm.”

TWFRS crews left the scene just after 9:20pm on Wednesday evening, and the fire investigation will begin today (Thursday) with support from Northumbria Police.

Anyone with information about the fire is being asked to contact the police via the ‘Tell Us Something’ page of their website or by calling 101 quoting reference number NP-20220302-0695.

Alternatively you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.