A road remained closed on Sunday morning after a blaze broke out at a disused university building in south Liverpool. Emergency services rushed to the empty Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) IM Marsh campus on Barkhill Road, which sits on the border of Mossley Hill and Aigburth, as smoke was seen for miles coming from the building.
Fire crews called to unoccupied student block
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service crews were alerted at 3.41pm and were on scene within 10 minutes, with eight fire engines and an aerial appliance in attendance. When firefighters arrived, they found an unoccupied student accommodation block, which measured around 100m x 20m, with a "well developed" fire in the roof.
Crews tackled the blaze, while Merseyside Police also attended to manage road closures on both Barkhill Road and North Sudley Road. Despite the fire being put out by crews at the scene, Barkhill Road remains closed this morning, Sunday, between Mossley Hill Road and Aigburth Road as a result of the incident.
Drone footage shows flames engulfing roof
Drone footage of the fire showed flames engulfing the roof of the building while large plumes of white smoke rose up to the sky. People living in the area were told to keep their doors and windows closed. There has been no indication as to what started the fire, as of Sunday morning.
A spokesperson for the fire service said yesterday: "If you have an existing medical condition, keep treatment close and if any ill effects are experienced dial NHS 111 for advice. Please avoid the area, the incident is ongoing."
A later update added: "The incident has been divided into sectors with firefighters fighting the fire externally with main branch hoses and firefighters wearing breathing apparatus fighting fire internally with hose reel jets. All utilities have been isolated. Please continue to avoid the area and keep doors and windows shut."
Fire scaled down but road remains closed
As of 7.40pm on Saturday, the fire service said: "Firefighters have made good progress and the incident has been scaled down to three fire engines and one aerial appliance. The service drone has been deployed to assist in identifying hotspots. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus are dampening down the area and also checking for hotspots. Barkhill Road remains closed. Please continue to avoid the area."
A spokesperson for LJMU said: "The university is working closely with the emergency services following a major fire at IM Marsh. The fire has been contained and there have been no casualties reported. The university vacated the site a number of years ago with no teaching or other student-facing activity at IM Marsh since 2020. LJMU thanks all of the emergency services for their swift response."
