Drone pictures reveal scale of Ayre's Quay tyre fire

New thermal drone pictures from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service reveal the scale of the blaze which broke out in the Deptford area of the city on Monday, September 16.

The service urging the public to stay safe from the blaze by keeping away from the site and keeping their doors and windows closed.

Smoke was visible from both sides of the river as firefighters fought to bring the blaze under control.

Fire crews from Sunderland Central, Marley Park and North Moor fire stations attended the scene near to Beach Street, along with an aerial ladder platform from Gateshead station.

The alarm was raised shortly before 5.14pm yesterday afternoon.

The service confirmed that there were a large quantity of tyres on fire at Simpson Street, Deptford, with heat from the blaze later spreading to two nearby containers housing 27 cylinders.

A spokeswoman added: “Fire service personnel extinguished the fire and cooled the cylinders then assisted the council to remove them from the incident ground.”

Posting on its Twitter account shortly before 9pm, the service said: “Crews at the scene and our control room have worked really hard to deal with the fire and stop it escalating.”

Now the service has posted pictures of the fire on its Facebook page – and confirmed police are investigating.

“These thermal images were taken by our drone, during last night's fire in the Deptford area of Sunderland,” says the accompanying post.

“Fire crews from Sunderland Central, Marley Park, Farringdon, plus our drone pilot and the Aerial Ladder Platform from Gateshead attended the fire, which consisted of a large quantity of tyres.

“The crews were called at 17.14, arriving on scene just 3 minutes later, and left at 20.46.

“The heat from the fire spread to two containers that held 27 cylinders - believed to contain gas. Great work by fire crews, officers and our Control team.

“The fire is being treated as malicious. If you have any information, please contact Northumbria Police on 101.”