A huge fire engulfed Fast Fit Garage on Fernhill Road in Bootle on Tuesday night, September 29, sending thick smoke across the area and forcing nearby residents to evacuate their homes.
Firefighters were alerted to the incident at 8.23pm and arrived shortly afterwards. Several Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) engines were sent to deal with the blaze, and some residents living nearby were evacuated from their homes, while others were told to keep their doors and windows shut.
Large crowd gathers as building gutted
A large crowd formed at the site, with the building appearing to be fully gutted. The smoke was so thick that the portion of Fernhill Road beyond the building fire was no longer visible.
Firefighters wearing breathing masks used a hose reel jet and a crane to tackle the fire. A cordon remains in place at the scene this morning, Wednesday, September 30, with traffic monitoring service Inrix reporting that Fernhill Road is closed in both directions from Burnie Avenue to A5098 Aintree Road.
Crews remain overnight, road closed
The fire service has confirmed the incident is ongoing and has urged people to avoid the area. Fire crews remained at the scene through the night, with more meetings between them, police officers and paramedics from the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) taking place. NWAS were later stood down.
Scottish Power was also requested for assistance, and at 12.44am the electricity to the affected property was isolated. By 1.15am, MFRS crews continued to fight the fire externally.
Dampening down continues
From 2.16am, firefighters continued to dampen down the scene with two main jets in use. The smoke continued to billow from the hollowed out warehouse sandwiched between Fernhill Road and Timon Avenue. A Merseyside Police detective was also spotted at the scene.
The ECHO has approached Merseyside Police for comment.
