Fast-thinking firefighters and control room staff have been praised after a rapid response to a pub fire in Jarrow.

Senior officers at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) have praised the work of those involved in an early hours response to a pub fire.

The Service’s Fire Control first received a call at 2.46am on Tuesday about smoke billowing from a pub on Walter Street in Jarrow.

The first crews were on scene in just six of minutes and discovered the pub was well alight.

Recognising the scale of the fire, a number of further appliances were mobilised to the scene meaning a total of eight appliances, a command unit, and 34 firefighters were deployed.

Today (Tuesday) Area Manager Ian Robinson, who oversaw the response, has praised the firefighters, fire control team and support staff involved.

He said: “This was a substantial fire that spread quickly throughout the building, when working conditions were significantly affected due to the difficult nature of the incident.

“It was important that we acted quickly and as always our outstanding Fire Control team and firefighters, worked tirelessly together to extinguish the blaze.

“Our priority was to ensure the fire didn’t spread to the nearby homes, and also to preserve as much of the historic pub as we could.

“Thankfully there was nobody in the building at the time of the fire.

“Enquiries to determine the circumstances surrounding the fire are ongoing and a joint investigation with Northumbria Police is already underway.

“I want to say a huge well done to everyone involved in last night’s response; it was a long night with the darkness meaning tackling the fire was even more difficult.”

Emergency services have since left the scene of the incident but, despite early enquiries, the cause of the fire remains unknown.