A fire sparked chaos at a Wetherspoons branch in Shropshire, after a blaze forced punters to flee the restaurant chain.
The fire broke out yesterday (December 27) and saw customers bringing out food and pints as they were forced to leave while over 50 firefighters tackled the blaze.
The Market Drayton Wetherspoons branch, called The Hippodrome, was completely evacuated with great success as no staff or customers were injured.
The fire service completed an investigation on the cause and found it to be accidental. It is believed that hot embers from an open fire fell through a hidden gap in the fireplace.
Station manager Craig Jackson, of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We believe it involves an open fire in the building. Thankfully everyone was evacuated safely, the premises owners have done a really good job in making sure people were evacuated and safe and we’ve been able to go in and start to tackle and control that fire.”
(Image: GOOGLE)
A fire service spokesperson added: “This was a challenging and complex incident due to hidden fire spread behind wooden panelling and the layout of the building. Following a fire investigation, the cause of the fire was determined to be accidental, caused by hot embers from an open fire dropping through a defect in the fire place, resulting in the wooden floor and supporting timbers catching fire and spreading.
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