Fire family needs clothes, shoes & accommodation

On Tuesday 25th October, a Mother and her 3 daughters lost their home and nearly everything they owned in a house fire on Vicarage Road, Wednesfield and we are hoping our community can help them out.

Kim Manley and her girls aged 15, 13 and 7 are in need of both clothes, shoes and accommodation. They need among other things clothes, including size 12 (adults), girls age 16, girls age 13-14, girls age 7 and shoes sized 5, 3 and children’s 13. If you have any of the following items that you can donate, please get in touch or drop them off at St Thomas’ Church in Wednesfield.

Donation drop off point

St Thomas’ Church in Wednesfield has kindly offered to put a donation box in the Church, this is open for visitors on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings (10 am – 12 noon) with coffee served on Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays. There will be a large box at the back of church, just by where you come in which is  marked ‘House Fire donations’ and will be there from Thursday 27th.

We’ve already had a fantastic response from the community on our Facebook page and would like to extend our thanks to everyone that has already been in touch – however if you feel you can help or have something to donate, please do!

Accommodation Needed

The family are currently looking for accommodation – if you or someone you know has a property in the Wednesfield area available to rent and are able to help please email us on info@wv11.co.uk and we’ll pass your details on. We will also offer one month’s free advertising on the website, including a plug on our Facebook page and Twitter feed to any landlord that can waive the deposit  for this family!

The offer of free advertising has been matched by the Tettenhall Village website, so that’s free advertising on both websites and associated social media platforms if you’re a landlord that waives your deposit fees (web traffic stats available on request).

Image:  Express and Star

We’ve just received a call from Tom Stokes at Beacon Radio informing us of a large house fire on Vicarage Road in Wednesfield.

At the moment 50% of the house is on fire and there are 5 fire engines in attendance. It’s not clear whether or not there is anyone trapped in the house.

Please avoid the area as rush hour traffic may be affected by this incident.

If anyone has any information on this situation, please let us know.

Update: 10th October

The Express & Star have reported that the contamination has now spread to Short Heath and over 10,000 fish have died.

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Thousands of fish have died in Wednesfield after contamination caused by a recent fire in Bilston has spread to the Wyrley and Essington canal.

It’s thought that around 5,000 fish have died as the result of water pollution caused by chemicals entering the canal system after the fire at an industrial site in Millfields Road, Bilston last month.

Both British Waterways and The Environment Agency are working to clean up the contamination which has affected the Birmingham Mainline canal and the Wyrley and Essington canal.

British Waterways spokeswoman Sarah Brudy said: “The chemicals aren’t like oil, they’re dissolved in the water so it’s case of waiting for them to dissolve.”

The leaked chemicals have caused the level of oxygen in the water to drop dramatically and as a result thousands of fish are suffocating.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We are currently aerating the water at a number of sites to contain the incident and prevent further fish mortality.”

Ms Brudy added: “We are hoping it’s going to get better but with chemicals in the water it’s a case of monitoring and testing the water.”

Thanks to WV11 reader Ian Mundy who sent us the above photo which was taken on the canal near Bentley Bridge yesterday –  Ian counted over 170 dead fish.

At 9:35pm on Monday evening a fire broke out at an industrial estate on Millfields Roads,  Ettingshall. The flames ripped through a building housing paints and detergents and attempts to bring the fire under control were impeded by aerosols which exploded in the heat.  Fire fighters used breathing apparatus and water from the nearby canal to tackle the blaze.

The noise and rumblings from the fire were felt by residents as far away as Ashmore Park which led to rumours on Facebook and Twitter that it was either the Tata Steel factory or the Fireworks factory in Wednesfield that had gone up in flames.

Fire crews were still on site this morning dampening down the buildings and there are road closure in the immediate vicinity. An investigation into the cause of the blaze will be carried out and there are no reports of any injuries.

Image courtesy @i_am_mouse (via twitter)

A large fire took hold of a derelict school site in Russell Close, Ashmore Park, Wednesfield on Thursday 28th October. No one was hurt in the incident.

The former Danesmore Park Primary School which has been derelict since it was closed by Wolverhampton City Council in December 2007 went up in smoke around 2pm.

The fire, which caused a partial roof collapse in one wing of the building was not caused by gas or electricity and after an investigation by fire service officers is being treated as arson. Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact Wolverhampton Police on 0345 113 5000.

Residents in Russell Close told WV11.co.uk that the emergency services attend minor incidents at the school site regularly.

By 2:30pm smoke could be seen billowing from some distance away and a large crowd gathered as children from across the estate came to see what was happening to their former school during the half term holiday.

Fire engines from Walsall, Bloxwich, Tettenhall, Tipton, and Wolverhampton joined those from Fallings Park as crews fought to bring the blaze under control. Rapid response ambulances and Police officers were also in attendance and Russell Close was closed to traffic and pedestrians as a precautionary measure.

Local councillors Hazel Keirle and Neil Clarke arrived at the scene to talk to Fire Marshals and an inspector from Wolverhampton City Council arrived to survey the damage caused. Councillor Keirle raised concerns that this was the 3rd school in Wolverhampton to have been damaged by fire in recent weeks.

The fire was extinguished at 4:31pm and the fire service went about making the site secure. The local park which borders the school was closed early in order to prevent access to the site.

Click on the slideshow above to see WV11′s photos from the scene, which were also posted on Facebook as events unfolded.

The former Danesmore Park Primary School on Russell Close, Ashmore Park is currently ablaze with Fire crews, Police and Ambulances in attendance. Smoke can be seen pouring from the blaze  as far away as Ecclestone Road and Russell Close is completely inaccessible due to the number of emergency vehicles at the scene.

For up to the minute reports see our Facebook page where we will endeavour to keep you updated from the scene as we find out more!!!

UPDATE: Our full report is now online.

**On a personal note as an ex-pupil and as a parent whose son’s education was disrupted by the closure of this wonderful school I am devastated by this! We fought hard to keep the school open and when everything stacked against us and it closed anyway the council assured the parents and local residents that the school would not be left to run into disrepair so something like this could happen! – Steph.

The fire which began at Silver & Co accountancy, based on the first storey of the shopping complex soon burnt through the ceiling into the Penguin Cafe below.

Cafe Owner Diana Jones told the Express & Star:

“We were in early and could smell something burning but didn’t think anything of it because sometimes they burn things around the back,” said the 67-year-old, who has run the cafe for eight years.

“The ceiling is completely ruined and I am waiting for the insurance to come out to find out the exact amount of damage.

“We have lost three freezers filled with prawns, burgers and bacon though and that is thousands alone.”

Business affected by the fire include Elegant Frames, childrens’ shop Oh Baby and Portland Opticians, as well as several other firms in the block.

Jason Baso, who runs Elegant Frames told the Express & Star:

“We have had to throw away a few things like office chairs that have been smoke-damaged but I can assure all of the customers that all their precious pictures are safe,” he said.

“They were all locked away safely in cupboards and have not been touched at all. You can’t replace memories and a lot of people would be concerned about their pictures, but they are all safe.”

Firefighters from Fallings Park and Walsall were called  just after 7am on Saturday. There have been no reports of anyone being injured in the incident.

Police are now investigating and anyone with information should call Wednesfield Police Station on 0345 113 5000.

Read the full story at the Express & Star: Arson attack forces closure of precinct

Over 20 members of staff were evacuated from the Corus Steel plant in Wednesfield last night after a major fire destroyed a sheet blasting machine.

Six fire crews attended the blaze around 8pm and one crew from Fallings Park remained at the scene until the following morning. No injuries were reported.

Read the full story at the Birmingham Mail.

More then a dozen cars were destroyed at Auto Technique on Strawberry Lane, Wednesfield and Fire Crews spent more than five hours battling the blaze. Investigators are apparently looking into the possibility the fire was started deliberately.

Did you see the blaze today? Let us know in the comments.