Firefighters experience deja vu as they battle huge blaze off Fishergate

Six fire engines and two aerial ladder platforms were called to the former St Joseph’s Orphanage building around 6pm – in a repeat of a blaze in the same spot in May 2020.

But unlike last year when arsonists were found to be responsible for setting fire to the historic building, fire chiefs believe the latest one may have been an accident.

“At this stage we are not treating it as deliberate, but there will have to be a full investigation,” a spokesman for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service told the Post. “Unless new evidence comes to light we are treating it as an accident.

"There were people working on the site today, but we don’t believe there is anyone inside the building. Obviously there will have to be a full search in due course.”

Last May fire destroyed a large part of the Grade II Listed orphanage, causing it to be demolished for safety reasons

In the latest incident police were urging people to stay away from the area, just off the city’s main shopping street Fishergate.

A Lancashire Police statement said: “Due to a fire on Mount Street we have had to close several roads in the city centre, including Fishergate, from Cheapside down to Corporation Street.

"Please note that these closures may be extended. Please follow the instructions of officers at the scene.”

It was on the evening of May 13 last year that eight fire appliances and two aerial ladders were sent to the scene of a blaze in the roof and upper floors of part of the old orphanage building. After the blaze was brought under control parts of the building had to be demolished because they were deemed unsafe. Work has been going on since that time to renovate remains of the 150-year-old building and construct flats and houses on the site.

That fire in 2022 proved to be the first in a series of four blazes, all believed to have been started deliberately in empty properties in the city centre. The former Odeon Cinema and the neighbouring Evoque nightclub were destroyed in one of the fires.

In the latest incident the fire brigade spokesman said: “It is the old orphanage. We are going to be here for quite some time. It is hard to tell which bits of the building were damaged in the last fire and which have been damaged in this incident.

"We don’t think there is any risk of it going any further, although we can’t say at this time we have it fully under control. There may be some concerns at some point about the structural safety of the building.”