Firefighters battle blaze at Blackpool bowling alley

Flames were spotted leaping from the building by passersbyand firefighters say that they initially feared that people may have been trapped inside.

Six engines were called in to tackle the large fire which started at the MFA Bowl on The Promenade at around 12.30am on Friday, July 6.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus searched the building but say that nobody was found.

The blaze is thought to have caused damage to several rooms at the bowling alley.

Crew Manager John O'Rourke said: "The cause of the fire is still currently under investigation, but we believe the fire started on either the first or second floor of the building.

"We arrived to find a well developed fire with the fire spreading to scaffolding outside.

"We used a ladder, three hose reel jets and six firefighters in breathing apparatus to search the building.

"We actively fought the fire for around two hours.

"Crews are still at the scene of the fire on a watching brief this morning."

A spokesman for MFA Bowl confirmed that they would be open at usual today thanks to the fast action of firefighters.

A spokesman said: "I’m sure you’ve heard we had a fire last night, some of the front of the building has been damaged.

"But hats off to the fire brigade who did an amazing job of stopping it and stopping the extent of the damage, we thank you all."

Nobody is believed to have been injured in the fire.

The road was closed while emergency services dealt with the fire.