Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

Launceston at 27/03/2020 19:53

At 19:53 Critical Control received a 999 call reporting a shed on fire. Because of the information given by the caller two appliances were mobilised from Launceston Community Fire Station. On arrival crews found a considerable sized building well alight and requested two additional appliances, which were mobilised from Callington and Liskeard Community Fire Stations. An Incident Command Unit, Operational Support Vehicle and Environmental Protection Unit were also mobilised along with an Incident Commander and Hazardous Materials & Environmental Protection Advisor (HMEPA).

Crews used 3 hose reel jets and 2 main jets to extinguish the fire. Two breathing apparatus wearers entered the building which had an asbestos roof, and as a precaution underwent decontamination as part of our standard procedures. This was supported by the HMEPA and our on-call Engineering, Workshops and Stores (EWS) Officer.

Due to the size of the incident Critical Control made contact with, briefed, and where necessary requested the attendance of a number of our partner agencies including:
Devon and Cornwall Police
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Cornwall Council Resilience and Emergency Management Team
Environment Agency
South West Water
Western Power Distribution

One appliance was left on scene to monitor for hotspots after the fire was extinguished. The incident was finally closed at 00:37.