UK — Dozens of residents were evacuated from their homes in Newquay on Monday night after an exclusion zone was set up following a fire at a garage.

More than 50 people were instructed to leave their properties as a precautionary measure after a fire engulfed a container at First Choice Auto Centre in Tor Road, which stored a number of gas cylinders that could have potentially exploded.

The elderly, disabled, children and parents clutching their babies, many in their pyjamas, initially gathered at the Griffin Inn in Cliff Road following a 200- metre cordon being put in place. Numerous areas were affected including St Thomas Road, Fairview Terrace, Springfield Road and Pargolla Road.

The displaced people were later taken by bus to Newquay Sports Centre where they were looked after by Cornwall Council’s Emergency Planning Team. Nobody was injured during the incident but doctors and nurses were on hand to administer any medication the evacuees needed at the makeshift refuge centre.

The fire service managed to get the fire under control by 11.30pm and the cordon was reduced to 45 metres, which allowed the evacuated people to return to their homes. The roads were reopened by 10am yesterday morning.

Aimee Jones, who is pregnant with twins, said: “There were about 20 people gathered around the garage watching the fire. The police were trying to move people away but a lot of them were being silly, trying to run past so they could get pictures on their phones. The police cordoned everyone off and the flames started getting really high.

“A lot of people became distressed when the incident became prolonged as they had left their pets in their homes.”

Mike Redman from Morab Court said: “I had already made the decision that we would probably have to leave when the police arrived to evacuate us. I was filming the fire on my camera phone and a few of the cylinders went bang. I fell back through the door and shut it.

“The flames were above the roof of the garage. First of all I saw smoke billowing across the lounge window. I looked out and the flames were getting bigger and bigger.

“That was when I heard lots of pops and bangs. But I did not realise it would be such a long-term evacuation.”

James Coleman, who was evacuated along with his partner Sarah and their three-month-old baby Daisy from their home at St Thomas Road, said: “The police knocked on the door and said we would have to evacuate. I ran around grabbing bottles and nappies. It was coming up to Daisy’s bedtime but it is better to be safe than sorry.”

A project at Kernow Court that provides accommodation for people with a history of mental health issues was among the places evacuated. Resident Jason Abraham said: “A lot of us were getting anxious because we had to take our medication and go to bed at a certain time.

They do not like a change to their routine.”

Dave Andrew, the owner of First Choice Auto Centre, says the fire service believes the blaze was arson. The fire involved a Luton van container parked behind the garage, which contained new tyres and a number of cylinders.

He said: “There has been around £3,000 worth of damage. The fire officers believe it was arson. There is no electric to the container.”

Around 45 firefighters from Newquay, St Columb Major, Truro and St Austell were scrambled to battle the blaze. Crews later used two ground monitors to cool the cylinders from a safe distance. Fire investigators were at the scene on Tuesday morning to try to discover the cause of the blaze.

Watch manager Chris Starkey said: “We’re not taking any chances in case one of the cylinders is acetylene. Acetylene can be very dangerous even though it appears to be cool and safe as it can later explode.

“We are cooling the cylinders down from a distance to protect the crews and checking their temperature every hour for monitoring reasons.”

The police helped evacuate the residents from their houses.

Officers are now investigating the cause of the blaze. Acting inspector Sara Carthew said: “At this time there is nothing to suggest the fire is suspicious. We are keeping an open mind until we get an update from the fire investigation team. We will wait for them to do a thorough investigation.”

South West Ambulance Service also helped evacuate residents. Duty officer Jason Sobey said: “We have got no casualties but we have non-emergency crews conveying the disabled and needy who are not able to get to the Griffin Inn and Newquay Sports Centre.”

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