Click on the thumbnails above for larger versions of pictures from this afternoon's incident.

27 January 2010

About 35 firefighters were called to a fire involving market stalls in the outdoor market area near Midsummer Arcade, thecentre:mk, Central Milton Keynes, this afternoon.

Three crews from Great Holm, one from Broughton and one from Bletchley attended, along with a number of officers and Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service's Command and Control Unit. A safety cordon was put in place around parts of the main shopping building.

Crews were called at 1.58pm. Firefighters used six sets of breathing apparatus, three main jets and foam to put out the fire.

The fire involved a group of shuttered market stalls measuring about 12 metres by three metres beneath Secklow Gate. Firefighters had to use hydraulic equipment to gain access to some of the stalls. They also had to move a number of LPG cylinders away from the fire.

Group Manager Dave Norris, one of the officers at the incident, said: "There has been a co-ordinated approach to managing this incident with ourselves, Thames Valley Police and officers from Milton Keynes Council.

"Firefighters had to work very hard to prevent the fire from escalating and spreading to the next group of stalls.

"Everyone has tried to keep the disruption to a minimum while not compromising the safety of people in the area."

The stretch of Secklow Gate between Silbury Boulevard and Midsummer Boulevard was closed temporarily. Most shops in thecentre:mk remained open.

The stop message was put through at 3.39pm, but crews are likely to remain at the scene for some time cooling it down.

Station Manager Paul Harrison from Great Holm Fire Station was in charge of the incident.