Homes Evacuated in Garage Fire

Around six houses in Whiston, near Rotherham, had to be evacuated due to a garage fire involving an unidentified gas cylinder.

Fire crews were called to the scene, on School Hill, at 8:42pm.  Two appliances from Darnall Fire Station, one from Aston and one from Rotherham attended.

They arrived to find a garage, around 6m x 10m in size, well alight.  Two main jets and a hose reel jet got to work extinguishing the fire and protecting the nearby detached property, which had one window damaged due to the heat.  Firefighters successfully controlled the spread of the fire.

However, due to an unidentified cylinder being found in the garage, a 200m cordon was established as a precaution, in case the cylinder contains acetylene.  As a result, around 12 people had to be evacuated from their homes in the area.

The fire was extinguished by around 9:30pm, but precautionary cooling of the cylinder continued, while firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to check heat levels.

At around 1am, the cordon was reduced and people were allowed to return to three homes.  However, by 4am all crews apart from one - from Rotherham - had left the scene.  This crew continues cooling the cylinder (as at 8am 15th August) and a small number of neighbouring properties remain evacuated.