AN investigation into the cause of a fire which ripped through a row of terraced shops is under way. 

Fire crews were called to Bolton Road, Walkden, just after 10pm on Tuesday after a blaze broke out in the roof space.

Around 30 firefighters battled the blaze at its height and the aerial appliance from Bolton Central was mobilised.

 

Neil Unsworth, watch manager at Farnworth Fire Station, said: “Initially three pumps attended, one from Farnworth and two from Eccles.

“The police were already at the scene closing off the roads and as we approached all we could see was a mist of smoke.

“The police guided us in and the fire had just started to break through the roof space.

“We ordered an aerial appliance and set up a couple of ground monitors to put water on the roof and crews tackled it from under the roof.

“The fire was contained to the roof space and crews tackled the fire from inside under the roof.

“We managed to put out the fire quite quickly once with the hydraulic platform.

“An investigation will being into the cause of the fire.

“Three shops were affected.”

More pumps were mobilised to the scene and crews checked the building to ensure no one was inside as the incident came in as a “persons reported”

The incident was scaled down at 1am and pumps remained on the scene for the investigation into the cause of the blaze to begin.

Nearby roads are now reopen.

The building’s inspector has also been notified.

While crews were fighting the blaze, stand-by firefighters at Eccles  had to tackle a number of deliberately started wheelie bin fires.

Alex Sugden, Watch Manager at Eccles, said: “A lot of our resources were committed to a property fire, which came in as a person’s reported – and deliberately started wheelie bin fires which crews had to deal with in the evening stretches our resources."