A large fire broke out on a Gateshead industrial estate during the early hours of New Year’s Day.
Emergency Services were called to the blaze, at a building on Nest Road, in Felling, shortly before 2am on New Year’s Day. Onlookers described being able to see the flames from “miles away”, with one describing is as the largest fire she’d ever seen.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service sent six appliances to tackle the blaze and four were still at the scene by 11am. Although the flames appear to be out, the building was still smouldering and local residents have been urged to keep their doors and windows closed and to stay away from the area.
A partial road closure has been put in place while fire crews deal with the incident. A spokesperson for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said: “We took a call at 1.56am about a building fire on Nest Road, in Felling.
Fire crews at scene of fire on Nest Road, Gateshead
“At the peak, we had six pumps in attendance. We’re scaling back now and there’s only four still in attendance. Resident have been urged to keep their windows closed, mainly for the smoke in the area, and there is a partial road closure to stop people getting too close.”
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Patricia Cole, who lives in The Oval, in Walker, woke at 1.40am and heard a number of bangs, which she thought were too loud to be fireworks. The 73-year-old said: “I looked outside and could see a huge fire on the Gateshead side of the river.
“There were loud bangs and thick black smoke and the flames were huge. I rang the fire brigade at 2.20am and they said they had people there. I stayed up until 3am and the flames were still really high.
“It’s still smouldering this morning. Honestly, it sounded like bombs going off last night. It was the largest fire I’d ever seen.”