Fire in derelict premises, Soho Hill, Handsworth.
Five crews and a hydraulic platform are dealing with a severe fire in a derelict property on Soho Hill, Handsworth in Birmingham.
Soho Hill, Birmingham B19 1AX, UK
At 05:49, we were alerted to a fire at a derelict premises on Soho Hill, Hockley, Birmingham. Five fire crews have attended the incident, with 27 firefighters in total and a hydraulic platform. The incident involved a severe fire in a 3-storey derelict premises, around 20m x 50m in size. The fire had broken through the roof of the property. A main jet and hose reel jets have been used, alongside our hydraulic platform to tackle the blaze. Good progress has been made, and the hydraulic platform was being used to remove roof tiles to gain better access to the roof. Due to possible structural issues, a structural engineer has been requested to attend and assess the property. Our technical rescue team will also be attending the incident to assist in assessing and making the premises safe for our crews. A thorough search of the premises will take place when it is safe to do so. West Midlands Ambulance was in attendance at the scene but has since left. West Midlands Police and utility providers have been in attendance assisting with this incident. It’s expected that Soho Hill will remain closed for much of the day. Diversions for traffic and key bus routes are in place.
Updates for this incident
A building surveyor and our technical rescue teams are now in attendance and are surveying the building. The incident is expected to be reduced to 3 fire crews and a hydraulic platform in the near future.
A main jet is in use to continue to damp down the property. Technical rescue teams, after liaising with the building surveyor, will be conducting searches in the building where safe to do so and are utilising search equipment and gas monitors to ensure the safety of our personnel. They will also prop up areas of the ground floor ceiling to allow firefighters to identify hotspots.
Crews continue to make good progress damping down hot spots and have searched over 70% of the premises, with no reported casualties. A hydraulic platform and two firefighting crews remain on scene. It’s expected that revisits by fire crews will continue to be carried out through the evening once our current crews leave the scene today. A handover to responsible persons will likely take place tomorrow, scene conditions permitting. A road closure is still in place, with Soho Hill closed from Soho Avenue to Park Avenue, in both directions. It is expected to remain closed going into the evening.
Crews conducted a further inspection at the premises, using a hydraulic platform and thermal image camera to check the loft area, first floor and ground flood. No hotspots were found. The site has been handed over to the responsible persons for the property and the incident is now closed.
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