Multiple crews attend library fire

Firefighters were called to the City Central Library on Bethesda Street, Hanley, at 4.50pm yesterday (Saturday 18 March) following reports of a fire.  

Crews from Sandyford, Hanley and Burslem attended and extinguished the fire swiftly. It was contained within a small area on the second floor and no-one was injured.   

Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus using hose reel jets to extinguished the fire and positive ventilation was used to clear the building of smoke. 

The fire was accidental and caused by an overloaded battery circuit. 

The activation of the fire alarms and early attendance of fire crews prevented the situation from escalating. 

We worked closely with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to bring the incident to a swift conclusion. 

A Stoke-on-Trent City Council spokesman said: “The fire was swiftly contained and emergency response procedures were thoroughly followed. The fire was accidentally caused and limited to an upper floor office space that was not publicly accessible.

“No public services have been impacted. The library will be closed tomorrow (Monday) to allow for further health and safety checks to be completed. 

“Library users can visit any of our other libraries in the city, and a wide range of library services are available online via www.stoke.gov.uk