Watch moment thick black smoke billows from Luton fire as water pressure affected and road closures in place

Footage shows thick black smoke billowing from a fire in Luton on Saturday (August 15).

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said they were called to reports of the fire in a commercial building on Selbourne Road at 6.23am.

In a 9.15am update on Saturday, the fire service said they had 10 fire engines on scene plus specialist vehicles.

A major incident was declared and properties in Wingate Road were evacuated. Residents in Limbury, Saints, Dallow, Biscot, Farley Hill were asked to close their windows and doors due to the smoke.

In a 12.05pm update on Saturday, the fire service said the fire was under control and that the major incident had been rescinded.

At 5.45pm on Saturday, the fire service said that there will still be an emergency service presence in the area and that road closures will remain in place overnight.

Residents have been able to return to earlier evacuated properties, however, there is still no access to commercial buildings in Selbourne Road.

They added that water pressure will continue to be affected whilst they remain on scene.

In a 9am update on Sunday 16 August, the fire service said they remained on the scene overnight dampening down hot spots and that at least one fire engine would be there all day. Road closures remain in place.

Affinity Water said: “We’re really sorry if you have had lower water pressure than usual on Saturday. We were made aware of a fire on Selbourne Road which may have been causing this. The fire service remain on site tackling the fire, however, have updated us that they do not expect to be using much of the water anymore. Although the team are not drawing as much water as previously to tackle the fire, you may still notice pressure is lower than normal whilst they remain on site working.

“If you have no water or lower water pressure than normal, please avoid using your:

• Washing machine
• Dishwasher
• Electrical appliances that use water
• If you still have water, we recommend you put some in your kettle or fridge for drinking in case your water needs switching off for the repair.”

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “At its height, we had 10 fire engines, three aerial platforms to tackle the fire from above, two water carriers and an incident command unit to support firefighting operations.

“This has been an excellent multi-agency response to a dynamic incident and we thank all our partners for their support and ongoing work, particularly our neighbouring fire and rescue services who provided resources during this busy period for the fire service nationally.

“All people were reported for and road closures will be reviewed as the incident scales down. It is anticipated the fire service will be on scene for the rest of the day.

“Working with police, a full fire investigation will take place to determine the cause.”