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Downham Market fire station destroyed in fire | Downham Market fire station destroyed in fire |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A fire station and fire engine were destroyed in an overnight blaze. | |
Police officers working nearby reported the fire in Downham Market, Norfolk, just after midnight. It had started in the bay where the station's fire engine was housed. | |
Crews from other areas were called to tackle the fire. | |
Norfolk's deputy chief fire officer Roy Harrold said: "Normally we go to other people's fires, but tonight we had to go to our own." | |
Nearby houses were evacuated for a short time. No-one was hurt. | Nearby houses were evacuated for a short time. No-one was hurt. |
Mr Harrold said breathing apparatus cylinders on the burnt fire engine had ruptured. | |
Police and fire officers were searching the area to make sure there was no dangerous debris, he said. | |
'Crew dumbfounded' | |
A replacement fire engine has already been delivered to the town. | |
"We've lost the fire station but we haven't lost the cover," said Mr Harrold. | |
A new fire engine costs about £250,000 and a new fire station could cost about £1.5m, he said. | |
Watch manager Kim Scotney has been at Downham Market fire station for 28 years. | |
"We're gutted," he said. "The rest of the crew are dumbfounded. It hasn't quite sunk in properly, but at the end of the day nobody was hurt." | |
An investigation will begin into the cause of the fire as soon as the building has been declared safe. | |
Downham Market is a retained fire station, with one one watch manager, two crew managers and eight firefighters. | Downham Market is a retained fire station, with one one watch manager, two crew managers and eight firefighters. |
It has been on its present site since 2006. |