Mobility aid shop destroyed by fire in town centre.
A large fire in the town centre has severely damaged a mobility aid shop. Firefighters were dispatched to Easy Mobility Services on West Avenue in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, at around 00:35 BST Monday.
As firefighters from across the county battled the blaze, up to 70 people were evacuated from nearby homes. Tendring District Council, in collaboration with the hotel, established a refuge centre at a nearby Premier Inn.
Easy Mobility Services, which sells equipment such as mobility scooters, wheelchairs, and stairlifts, stated on its website: “Unfortunately, there has been a major fire at our Clacton showroom.”
It urged customers to contact its Colchester or Braintree branches “until we find new premises”.
Elliot Deady/BBCAshleigh Gibson, owner of the Catpawccino Cat Cafe, which is directly opposite the property that caught fire, described it as “unlike anything I’d ever seen.” “It has two buildings: a furniture shop and a mobility shop.
“The fire was so hot it actually melted the gutters on our side of the road and has cracked a window.” Ms Gibson stated that she rushed to her business at around 02:00 when she learnt about the fire, as there were 12 cats inside.
She praised emergency services for their assistance in keeping them safe from the smoke. “They went in, closed all the windows, checked the cats, and said everything was fine.
“Luckily for us, the smoke was blowing towards the sea, not the business,” she added.
Essex Fire and Rescue ServiceJackson Road, Penfold Road, Agate Road, and West Avenue were all closed. The fire was extinguished by 07:00, but firefighters remained to dampen hotspots, according to incident commander Nick Singleton.
According to BBC Essex, as many as “60 to 70 local residents” were told to leave their homes after crews arrived at the incident, which involved “some shops”.
He confirmed there had been no injuries.
Some of those told to leave nearby properties were able to return, but “a number” were still being cared for at a refuge centre. “I’d like to say a big thank you to the crews who worked extremely hard to stop the fire from spreading to nearby buildings,” said Colchester station manager Mr Singleton.
He also expressed gratitude to the Premier Inn for “providing a refuge centre”. “A fire investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire when it is safe to do so,” according to him.
People living nearby were asked to keep their windows and doors closed due to the smoke.
Crews from Clacton, Dovercourt, Manningtree, Weeley, Colchester, Tiptree, and Chelmsford were on the scene.
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