Firefighters tackle fire at former Market Drayton hotel
An investigation is underway into the cause of a fire at the former Corbet Arms hotel a Grade II listed building on Market Drayton's High Street.
Firefighters from a number of stations across the county including crews from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the fire at around 6.30pm on Wednesday evening.
Firefighters from Market Drayton were first on the scene and confronted with smoke issuing from the roof, and all the windows across the second and third floors of the building.
The crew were faced with a very challenging incident involving a large complex three storey building, an unknown location and size of fire and multiple locked and boarded up entry points.
A Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "On arrival of the supporting appliances and crews, the number of firefighters committed into the building wearing breathing apparatus was increased to six, with an additional three high-pressure hose reel jets and a main jet being got to work.
"Whilst the breathing apparatus crews were working in near zero visibility in places to locate and extinguish the fire, other crews were establishing an additional water supply from a nearby fire hydrant, as well as pitching a 13.5 meter ladder to the third floor windows to allow for inspections to be carried out.
"Officers from West Mercia Police were urgently requested to attend to assist with traffic control, which resulted in High Street and Stafford Street being closed to traffic.
"The breathing apparatus teams working in hazardous conditions which included holes in the floor, located a severe fire on the first floor of the building, which involved a large quantity of scrap wood, building debris and wooden flooring.
"The crews worked hard to prevent any further fire spread to other parts of the building and extinguish the fire. The fire was extinguished and the incident brought under control approximately two and a half hours after the first crew arrived at the scene.
"We are pleased to report that there were no injuries at this incident, and through rapid and assertive fire fighting by the initial crews and great teamwork by the supporting crews, the business located on the ground floor of the building suffered no damage from fire. The incident was scaled down to two appliances at around 10pm, with relief crews coming from Wem and Wellington.
"The cause of the fire remains under investigation by a specialist fire investigation officer at this time. We would like to thank local businesses, members of the public who were in the area, and motorists for their patience and understanding with the restrictive cordons and road closures, this was necessary to allow fire crews to gain access and for the safety of both firefighters and the public."
