Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to reports of a fire on Harborough Road in Rushden at 11.10am yesterday (Wednesday 24 May). On arrival crews found a commercial premises well alight and requested additional appliances to the scene. At its peak, six pumps attended the incident to contain the fire and douse the flames.
Harborough Road was closed throughout the afternoon to allow firefighters to carry out their work safely. Adjacent properties including a nursery school were also evacuated as a precaution due to the unstable structure.
During the incident a firefighter sustained an injury whilst tackling the blaze at the premises. He was assessed by colleagues at the scene and taken to Accident and Emergency at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) where he was treated and later discharged.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Shaun Hallam visited the firefighter whilst he was at NGH. He said: “I can confirm that one of our firefighters sustained an injury whilst at the incident yesterday but I am pleased to say that he is comfortable and is now recovering at home with his family.”
“Firefighters often put themselves in dangerous and challenging situations and every effort is made to ensure their safety at every incident. Rigorous training and stringent processes are in place to protect our crews and thankfully injuries are a rare occurrence. It is upsetting when any one of our firefighters suffers an injury in the line of duty but as a Service, we will support the firefighter and his family whilst he recuperates.”
The incident was scaled down at around 3pm with crews revisiting the scene during the afternoon and evening to check for any hotspots and ensure the structure remained safe.
A fire investigation is ongoing but the cause is believed to be accidental.
Crews at NFRS would like to thank residents and the public for their support and patience whilst they were dealing with this protracted incident.
Fire Risk Assessment (worked example for House in Multiple Occupation (HMO)) (PDF 389KB)
