Shopping Arcade Fire - Nelson Bay
Published: 5th January 2010
At 10.56pm on Tuesday 5 January, fire crews were called to a fire in a shopping arcade in Magnus Street, Nelson Bay. Fire Rescue Officers from Nelson Bay Fire Station were on scene within eight minutes and reported that the fire was already well advanced and threatening surrounding structures. Crews wearing breathing equipment entered the arcade and discovered two shops well alight. Due to large volumes of smoke, 100 residents were evacuated from a nearby residential unit block. Forty Fire Rescue Officers worked for two hours to bring the fire under control. Two shops were destroyed and a third shop was extensively damaged by smoke heat and water. Crews from Nelson Bay, Raymond Terrace, Tarro, Mayfield West and Stockton Fire Stations were called to the incident and a Hazmat crew from Newcastle were also called in to assist. Evacuated residents were allowed back into their building in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Fortunately no injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.