Drone footage shows sheer scale of Burslem blaze facing firefighters
Drone footage has laid bare the scale of the Burslem blaze that firefighters spent hours battling. Seven fire engines, police, paramedics and the air ambulance were scrambled to Waterloo Road where thick smoke billowed out across the Mother Town.
Now drone footage shared with StokeonTrentLive has laid bare the sheer scale of just what faced determined firefighters yesterday afternoon. Such was the size of the blaze that crews remained throughout the night and continue to 'dampen down hotspots' today.
Today and a stretch of Waterloo Road remains shut as Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is again using its aerial ladder platform at the scene. The service has confirmed it is working with police as an investigation into the fire gets underway, with forensics also drafted in.
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The alarm had been raised at around 12.45pm yesterday - with emergency services now marking 24 hours at the scene. Businesses and homes had to be evacuated while Stoke-on-Trent City Council was ready to arrange accommodation for those affected.
During the operation and a group of people were helped from a first-floor window of a building and given 'oxygen treatment'.
The local authority is also looking to confirm just when Waterloo Road, which is shut between Zion Street and Nile Street, will be able to reopen. Meanwhile West Midlands Ambulance Service has today clarified the number of patients treated.
It was initially reported five had gone to hospital, but paramedics say six patients were treated - with four able to be discharged at the scene.
A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "We were called to a large property fire on Waterloo Road at 1.02pm yesterday and sent three ambulances, two paramedic officers, the Trust’s Hazardous Area Response Team and the Midlands Air Ambulance from Cosford to the scene.
"We treated six patients in total, two of whom, a man and a woman, were taken to County Hospital Stafford with injuries not believed to be serious. The remaining four patients were assessed and discharged at the scene."
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