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Arson suspected after £500,000 damage
AN ARSON investigation has been launched into the massive blaze which ripped through a Blackpool building site.
Loss assessors estimate the damage caused in the blaze, which broke out at a construction site on Talbot Road, will cost in the region of 500,000.
Some residents have been told they will not be able to return to their homes for at least a week.
More than 150 people had to be evacuated from their homes during the fire, which destroyed 38 partially built new apartments,and caused serious damage to several homes in surrounding streets.
Nearby residents reported seeing children hanging around the site of the fire just hours before the blaze broke out at 3.40am yesterday.
Firefighters and police will now remain on site throughout the rest of the weekend looking for clues to how the blaze started.
>> Read how we broke the news about the fire and watch our video report from the scene
>> Watch dramatic footage sent in by a Gazette reader
Families, forced to seek refuge at Blackpool Sports Centre have only just been allowed to move back.
They were prevented from returning to their homes following safety fears over a 25m crane on the site.
The crane has now been made secure by engineers – who stress it poses no danger to the public.
Tonnes of damaged scaffolding at the site has also been made safe.
Mark Alderson, chief fire officer from Bispham and South Shore fire station, said: "This is an arson investigation until we know otherwise.
"We will spend the weekend at the site checking for clues as to how it may have started.
"One property on Talbot Road in uninhabitable and there are a number of others on Spencer Court, which have also been affected by the fire.
"There is a crane in the centre of the site, which has been badly torched during the blaze and we are making every effort to secure it but there is no risk to the residents.
"I have been told by structural engineers on the site who have given me assurances the crane is totally safe. It will have to come down because it is badly damaged but it causes no danger to the public."
Nearby residents reported seeing children hanging around the site of the fire just hours before the blaze broke out at 3.40am yesterday.
Christine Chaplin, of Talbot Road, who was one of the 150 evacuees, said: "There are always kids hanging around the site and we have told the police about it."
Two floors of the timber-framed property has been wiped out by the fire, which fire crews described as a "war zone".
The roof of a terrace house on St Anthony's Place has been destroyed after it caught fire when an ember landed on it.
The owner of the site, Manchester Methodist Housing Association, was building apartments which were to be sold under a shared ownership scheme.
Bosses have said they will fully co-operate with the investigation and have vowed to rebuild the flats.
Matthew Harrison, deputy chief executive at Great Places Housing Group, the parent company of MMHA, said: "We are relieved there have been no reported injuries among nearby residents.
"The emergency services are looking into what caused the fire but we can confirm the site was secure and there was no public access to it. Our contractors are working with the police and the fire service on the investigation.
"Our contractors have been working on site for seven months and there have been no problems with vandalism. However, following this incident we will be reviewing security.
"Our contractor is looking at redeploying construction workers from the site to other projects.
"We can't say at the moment how much damage has been caused, or how much it will cost to put right, as the site is still under assessment, but it will be a significant amount of money. This will be covered by insurance. At this stage, our intention is to continue with the project and start rebuilding."
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Weather for Blackpool
Saturday 04 February 2012
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