Cause of Thornaby gearbox garage blaze being investigated by fire crews

A blaze that raged in the roof void of a gearbox garage is being investigated today by fire crews.

At 11.19pm yesterday Cleveland Fire Brigade was called to reports of a fire at a commercial premises in Thornaby.

Three fire crews from Stockton Fire Station along with a hydraulic platform attended the blaze at Easi Gears garage on Sun Street in Thornaby.

Both police and fire crews attended and a cordon was put in place.

Some residents were advised they would have to leave their homes if the situation became worse. The fire was put out by about 12.10am.

The building was unoccupied at the time of the incident and nobody was injured.

Scene of a fire at a garage at Sun Street, Thornaby

Parcel courier Peter Capaldi, 43, lives at one of the houses next to Easi Gears that received police advise to leave his home for his own safety if the flames got out of control.

Mr Capaldi said: “I know that there wasn’t a fire there when I looked out at 11.10pm, but at about 11.50pm I had the police knocking on my door.

“When I opened it, the street was full of fire engines, police and firemen.

“They asked if I had anywhere I could go because they were advising residents that they should leave their homes if it gets any worse.

“I went out round our back you could see flames coming out of the roof and there was plenty of smoke coming out as well.

“It was a good hour while they got it under control.”

Scene of a fire at a garage at Sun Street, Thornaby

Across the street Helen King, 27, and carer Vicky Chekoldina, 40, were awoken by the flashing lights and commotion.

Ms King said: “We were in bed but we were woken up by the flashing lights and sirens.

“Some people over the road were outside but the police didn’t come over to us.”

Ms Chekoldina said: “I opened the window and there was a lot of noise.

“We didn’t see any smoke or anything until the fire brigade came. They opened the door and there was a lot of flames inside.”

A Cleveland Fire Brigade spokeswoman said: “Although this incident was resolved, because of the nature of the fire being in the roof void of the property, fire crews will be attending the scene again to check the property and investigate the cause of the fire.”

The investigation is expected to resume today. The cause of the fire is still unknown.