Almost every fire station in Devon and Somerset has tackled Clarence blaze

Almost every fire station in Devon and Somerset have been involved in tackling the fire at the Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter.

Crews have endured grueling and lengthy shifts as they attempt to bring the blaze under control.

Joe Hassel, Group Manager for Devon and Somerset Fire and rescue Service, explained how fire service personnel have been dealing with the extensive fire in the hotel, and their pledge to work tirelessly to return the area to normal as soon as possible.

Exeter City Council was represented by Chief Executive Karime Hassan and Leader of the Council Cllr Peter Edwards who explained how they are working with businesses and the emergency services towards bringing normality back to the affected area of the city centre as soon as possible.

They also reminded the public that beyond the affected area, the rest of the city is open for business.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Netherton said: “The key objective for police is to make sure that members of the public are safe.

“At the same time we need to make sure that Exeter continues to function. We are reviewing the situation regularly to make sure that we are not putting anyone at risk.”

Road closures are in place at the junctions of High Street and South Street, of South Street and the Cathedral Green, on Queen Street at the rear end of Tesco, on North Street at the Iron Bridge end, on Musgrave Road and on Bedford Square at the junction with High Street.

There are further cordons on the cathedral side of Cathedral Green on the approach from Southernhay on the Cathedral Close footpath and also near to the cathedral gardens. Cathedral Green will remain cordoned off and is not accessible to the public while the fire service completes its work.

Emergency crews were alerted at 5.20am on Friday 28th October to a large fire affecting ‘The Gallery’ building on Cathedral Green in Exeter.

Below is the latest update from fire control:

UPDATE at 16:25 hrs. Crews are rotating at the incident and fresh crews are arriving every hour as many have worked for long durations. Nearly all stations throughout Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue have contributed to the efforts of this incident.

Later today, the aerial ladder platforms will be reducing down to three.
A high volume pump continues to deliver water to the Incident from the River Exe.

Steady progress is being made at the incident and the Fire Service are working alongside utility companies to make sure the scene is as safe as possible.