Derelict building fire

At 8.44pm on Friday (24) the fire service was called to a fire in a derelict building in Hitchin Road, Shefford.  

The first crews to arrive requested support from additional fire engines and in total, Shefford, Biggleswade, Kempston, Stopsley and a water carrier from Kempston and incident command unit from Leighton Buzzard attended.  

Crews wore breathing apparatus and used hose reels and jets to extinguish a fire in the ground floor of a four-storey building that was derelict. There were no casualties.

Crews remained on scene for a number of hours to cut away parts of the building, used high-pressured fans to clear smoke and dampen down any hotspots. A significant part of the building was damaged by fire and smoke damage has affected the whole property.  

The cause of the fire was deliberate.