A large early morning fire which engulfed the Poundstretcher store in Blackwood High Street is thought to have begun in rubbish bins outside the shop.
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said when crews arrived following a call at 2am, they noted that refuse bins outside were on fire and this had spread to the store room at the rear of the premises. The stock room and first floor well alight when they arrived.
At its height, around 50 firefighters tackled the blaze, although crews are now dampening down the site. The fire took six hours to bring under control and the building has now been deemed unsafe. No-one has been injured.
Firefighters were drafted in from Bargoed and Cefn Forest with reenforcements coming from Abercarn, Cardiff, Cwmbran and Merthyr. In total, six pumping appliances, four water bowers and two aerial appliances to attend the incident.
Due to the severity of the fire High Street, Blackwood was closed and the electricity supply to a number of shops was cut off.
Lyndon Moreton, from the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Fire Crews have worked extremely hard in arduous conditions and were successful in preventing the fire from spreading to adjoining shops.
“The fire was brought under control at 7.53am this morning and fire crews will remain in attendance for the majority of the day damping down and fully extinguishing the fire.”
The building has been deemed unsafe and demolision work has already started on the building.
The cause of the fire in the refuse bins is currently under investigation.
Caerphilly Council update on Blackwood fire
Caerphilly County Borough Council has been supporting the emergency services overnight dealing with a large fire at the Poundstretcher store in Blackwood.
The High Street remains closed to all traffic and bus diversions are in place, although the town’s main bus station is open as normal. Between Woodbine Road and The Market Place, the road is completely closed to vehicles and pedestrians due to the structure of the Poundstretcher building being unsafe. This full closure affects approximately ten shops.
As the store itself has been extensively damaged by fire, the Council’s Building Control officers are currently on site assessing the situation. It is anticipated that part or the whole structure will need to be demolished and this process will start today with a demolition contractor now on site. The Council recognises that the High Street is an integral part of the community of Blackwood and that the closure adversely affects local businesses, therefore the demolition of the building will continue overnight in order to enable the road to open again at the earliest opportunity.
Boots remains open for home prescription deliveries and Mayberry Pharmacy is open offering a full service to customers.
Either side of the full road closure by Poundstretcher, businesses have opened and are trading as normal. The council in conjunction with the police will be working to facilitate early morning deliveries on High Street should a closure still be in place on Thursday.
As one of the largest stores on the High Street, the council has said it is mindful that a number of jobs have been affected by the store closure.
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Blackwood is up in flames then isit!!!! #atlast twitter.com/CaelJones/stat…
— cael jones (@CaelJones) May 1, 2013
#SWControl – Reference Fire in High St Blackwood – High Street has been closed by the police
— SW Fire & Rescue (@SWFireandRescue) May 1, 2013
#SWCONTROL Reference large fire in Blackwood – Advice to community to keep doors and windows closed as there is lots of smoke in the area
— SW Fire & Rescue (@SWFireandRescue) May 1, 2013
Blackwoodfire – Advice to community is to keep doors and windows closed as there is a lot of smoke in the area
— CaerphillyCBC (@CaerphillyCBC) May 1, 2013
Blackwood fire update – The Bus Station is open, but as the High Street is closed some bus routes will be affected.
— CaerphillyCBC (@CaerphillyCBC) May 1, 2013
#SWControl Blackwood HighST fire under control. Crews in attendance all day damping down. HighST should be open by mid morning LK
— SW Fire & Rescue (@SWFireandRescue) May 1, 2013
Blackwood fire update – The Bus Station is open, but as the High Street is closed some bus routes will be affected.
— CaerphillyCBC (@CaerphillyCBC) May 1, 2013
the old sommerfield store is empty perhaps poundstretcher or the factory shop could relocate there if the council helps them with the owners.
What an excellent idea Jan, one that could help to safeguard the jobs of those working at Poundstretcher.
Also whoever Cael Jones is, I think he must be a distant relation of Lady Godiva or auditioning for Brokeback Mountain… A'hem!