Derelict building fire

At 9.06am on Saturday (25) crews were called to a fire in a derelict building in Hitchin Road, Shefford.

When the first crews arrived they were met with a fire on the third floor and roof space of a four-storey derelict building measuring approximately 30m by 12m.

At its height, six crews, two water carriers, an incident command unit, drone, and aerial ladder platform attended the scene to support with firefighting efforts.  

Firefighters used hose reels and jets to extinguish the fire, which was swiftly brought under control and fully extinguished by 1pm.  

An adjoining property was evacuated and there are no reported casualties. The road has been closed whilst firefighting operations are underway.  

Officers have scaled down the incident and firefighters remain on scene to dampen down and check for hotspots. It is expected the fire service will have a presence on sight throughout the day and into the evening.  

A fire investigation determined the cause of the fire was deliberate.