Serious Fire At Ali Badar, Midland Road, Bedford 17-09-17

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service fought a serious fire at the Ali Badar restaurant in Midland Road, Bedford, yesterday afternoon which left the building severely damaged.

At 4.01pm, Sunday 17 September, Fire Control received a call about a fire in a deep fat fryer at the restaurant and take-away and despatched two fire appliances , one from Bedford and one from Kempston Community Fire Stations.

When they arrive just six minutes later they found that the fire in the deep fat fryer had spread to ducting running through the building and got into the roof of the two and three storey terraced building. It had also spread to the flats above the restaurant. They called for two further fire crews and the Arial Platform to support them in their firefighting.

Wearing breathing apparatus to protect themselves against smoke and fumes Firefighters fought the fire, that had spread through the ground floor of the building, onto the first floor and into the roof void. They used hosereels and a fire jet to battle the blaze and get it under control and extinguished. By 7.30pm the fire was out and fire crews were damping down the sites of the fire and checking that it was completely out. They re-inspected the building at 10pm to ensure that it was not likely to re-ignite.

Watch Commander Steve Duffy said: “This was a complex building to fight a fire in and the rapid offensive actions of first crews that arrived prevented the fire spreading to the surrounding buildings and the probable loss of the terrace, which included several businesses and homes. The crews did well to contain this serious fire and I’d like to thank them for their swift actions.”

Group Commander Ian McLaren, Borough Commander North, added "The prompt actions and hard work of the first crews in attendance prevented the fire from spreading to adjacent businesses and private dwellings." Group Commander Ian McLaren also praised the Police for their assistance throughout the incident.

The fire left the ground floor of the building 75% damaged by fire, heat and smoke, the first floor and roof void were 50% damaged by fire, heat and smoke. The fire started accidentally and there were no casualties.

The fire comes at the end of Business Safety Week during which the fire service urged businesses to ensure they had proper fire safety measures in place and regularly carried out fire drills. Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service have an easy guide for businesses to keep fire safe on their website. Download it at: bit.ly/2gOKDcd 

Crew attending this incident was White Watch