Date: 9th December, 2024
Time: 3.34am
Description: We were called to South Street, Dorchester at 3.34am this morning for a serious fire involving a mid-terrace commercial premises.
Approx. 50 firefighters are on scene, including from Yeovil.
The building has partially collapsed, and there is significant smoke in the local area. The fire is also affecting two adjacent properties via the roof spaces. No injuries have been reported, but a number of local residents have been moved to a safe place.
South Street and parts of Trinity Street are currently closed to enable the firefighting operation. Electricity supplies to premises in South Street and Trinity Street have been affected, as we need SSE to isolate power to make the area safe. There is also an impact on water pressure, so we are using water carriers to try and minimise this.
We expect this incident to affect the town centre for some hours, and apologise for the inconvenience caused.
At this stage, the cause of the fire is unknown, but an investigation will be carried out when it is safe to do so.
12.30pm update: After an initial attendance from 11 fire stations, we have now got relief crews on scene from Weymouth, Wimborne, Westbourne, Chard, Ilminster, Christchurch, Hamworthy and Salisbury, together with an aerial ladder platform from Westbourne, a support appliance from Dorchester, and water carriers from Bridport and Yeovil - approx. 40 firefighters.
The building where the fire started has collapsed and the two adjacent properties have been badly affected, with the danger of further collapse. Firefighting is on-going, with the focus on preventing further fire spread, but this has been made difficult by the complex construction of the buildings.
South Street and parts of Trinity Street are currently closed to enable the firefighting operation. SSEN has applied a limited removal of power supplies to make the area safe.
We expect this incident to affect the town centre for some hours, and apologise for the inconvenience caused. Road closures are shown on https://one.network/ - local car parks are also affected.
5pm update: Firefighters are still tackling a blaze which has destroyed a mid-terrace commercial premises on South Street, Dorchester.
After an initial attendance from 11 fire stations, we have now scaled back to appliances from Westbourne, Shaftesbury, Swanage, Sturminster Newton and Ferndown, together with a support unit from Dorchester and the aerial ladder platform from Westbourne.
We hope to scale back further this evening, but expect to maintain a presence overnight. There are still pockets of fire within the collapsed building and two neighbouring properties, but dealing with these has been made difficult by their complex construction.
South Street and parts of Trinity Street remain closed to enable the firefighting operation to continue, but we are aiming to get Trinity Street reopened as soon as possible.
We are aware that members of the public have been flying drones over the incident ground today. Under Article 265B(3) of the Air Navigation Order 2016, it is an offence for a drone to fly “close to or inside areas” where an emergency response effort is ongoing, unless permission has been obtained from the appropriate emergency response services. No such permission has been given so, as such, we would ask that no further drone photography is taken while the incident is on-going.
Our thanks go to the local community for all of their support today.
8am, 10 December: The Service has had firefighters on the scene in South Street, Dorchester all night to deal with hot spots following yesterday’s blaze.
There will be a site inspection at approx. 9am, after which we can hopefully advise businesses along South Street when they can reopen.
This is a very complex incident so please bear with us!
10am, 10 December: Trinity Street has now reopened, and all businesses on South Street unaffected by the fire or the cordon have been able to open, some via access from the back. The buildings affected by fire are still at risk of collapse so the area in front has been fenced off and this closure will be in place for the foreseeable future.
A fire investigation is now underway, and there will be reinspections throughout the day to ensure that the fire is fully extinguished.
Our thanks go to the many individuals and businesses in the local community who offered refreshments, welfare and messages of support since the fire started yesterday. It is very much appreciated.
5pm, 10 December: Due to the scale of damage to the fire-affected properties, it is not safe for us to carry out a fire investigation. As such, we are unable to identify a cause for this incident.
11 December: We have had crews in attendance this morning to deal with some hot spots within the collapsed building. We will carry out regular reinspections for the next few days to keep the area safe. If anyone sees smoke issuing from the site, please call 999.
Location: South Street, Dorchester, UK