Firefighters risk lives tackling major Wolverhampton city centre blaze
An investigation was today under way after a fire at a shisha cafe which led to a busy route being closed off.
More than 30 firefighters were called to the Starbuzz shisha cafe, St George's Parade, Wolverhampton, yesterday.
The fire sent smoke billowing more than 300ft into the air above Wolverhampton city centre.
Fire crews spent around 10 minutes inside the single-storey wooden building and a shop next door after reports that people could be trapped.
They had to break into the unit which was filled with choking smoke.
Crew Commander Andy Fellows from Merridale fire station said: "The building was well alight when we arrived with flames 50 feet into the air and a column of smoke reaching 200 feet.
"There were fears of people being inside who might have spent the night in the cafe and there is always a risk of vagrants which we could not afford to ignore.
"It was extremely hot and there was a real risk of injury to the firefighters that went inside."
Smoke could be seen billowing into the air as the firefighters tackled the blaze.
People took to Twitter after spotting the plumes to ask what has caused it.
The firefighters were called to the scene in St George's Parade at 9.20am yesterday.
The fire started in an external structure and spread to the building.
Police were drafted in to close St George's Parade – and into the city centre Sainsburys supermarket, from Bilston Street while crews were tackling the blaze.
Officers lifted the closure shortly before 11am.
Fire service Station Commander Steve Ball said: "We were called to reports of persons reported but there was no-one in the building.
"On arrival there was a severe fire in progress at the rear of the property, it had spread to the main building. There is significant fire damage.
"Crews have entered the building and fought the fire and have done a really good job to prevent further damage."
The fire was out by around 10.30am. The cause of the blaze is not yet known and investigations were continuing today.
Crews from Wolverhampton, Fallings Park, Bilston and Tipton attended.
David Munn, duty manager at the nearby Sainsburys store, said the supermarket had opened at 10am as normal, but trade was severely affected.
He said: "We opened as normal but the access to the store was severely restricted so the trade has been impacted." Crew Commander Fellows addeed: "There was a lot of radiated heat.
"They broke into the shop and found it was filled floor to ceiling with smoke and a real risk of it bursting into flames. They had to search all three floors and were in constant danger of injury." The heat from the fire was so severe that windows cracked in a nearby apartment building.
Shisha cafes are a Middle Eastern tradition that dates back more than 400 years and they first started appearing on the streets of the Midlands in recent years.
Police today said the blaze was not being treated as a criminal act while investigations continue into what caused it.
Ian Angus, councillor for Bushbury North, said he has serious concerns about health issues that he believes can be associated with shisha cafes. "I am aware there has bean a rise in this type of cafe across the Midlands in recent years," he said.
"After Starbuzz opened I asked the council to look into it to make sure everything was in order in terms of planning and health legislation. After the weekend fire I would repeat those questions."
Health warnings from the British Heart Foundation said spending one hour smoking flavoured tobacco through a shisha pipe can be the same as inhaling the smoke of 100 cigarettes.
