Five fire engines take nine hours to put out flat fire

Beginning at 11pm last night above a takeaway on Preston Road, a 999 call said the fire had spread to the business below and the roof.

Two engines from Bamber Bridge and one from Leyland, Penwortham, Preston and Chorley fire stations attnded the incident before eventually coming away at 8am this morning.

A spokesman for the fire service said the cause of the fire is unknown, although an investigation has begun, and “extensive” damage was caused.

An aerial ladder platform, also known as a ‘cherry picker’, was used to extract tiles from the roof and to pump water in from the top of the building to extinguish the flames.

The residents of the flat were rescued from the building and members of the public were kept away from the building. There were no serious injuries.

Firemen with breathing apparatus then entered the building and needed to use safety equipment to “make safe” some of the sturctural damage caused by the fire.

The building is still in poor condition and the fire service is continuing its investigation into the cause of the blaze.