Investigation launched into cause of fire which has closed Felixstowe business

An investigation into the cause of a fire at a The Wharf, in the Great Eastern Square, Felixstowe has been launched by police and the fire service.

It took four fire crews two hours to extinguish the blaze at the site, which began inside The Wharf unit at around 5am, and covered a 50m by 50m area.

The fire service was initially alerted to the incident just before 5.10am following reports of a building on fire in Hamilton Road.

Two pumps from Felixstowe were sent to the scene. On arrival the roof was found to be well alight, and crews requested further assistance including that of an aerial appliance - which had to be sent from Colchester. Suffolk Fire and Rescue’s facility was unavailable due to a service.

Two crews from Ipswich also attended, as well as a command support vehicle from Woodbridge.

Crews fought the fire using three hose reels, six sets of breathing apparatus, one jet and one thermal imaging camera.

The incident had been brought under control by 7.15am, however crews remained at the scene for most of the day.

An investigation into the cause of the incident has now been launched by Suffolk police and Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service.

The Wharf remained closed throughout the day as a result of the incident, and it has not yet been confirmed when the shop will re-open.

A spokesperson for the East of England Co-Operative Society, which owns the building in which the fire took place, said yesterday: “We can confirm that a fire was reported at Great Eastern Square in the early hours of this morning.

“Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service is currently on site and investigations are underway.

“All East of England Co-op businesses in the area are trading as usual.”