Devastating fire sees shopping centre roof collapse in Leicestershire | UK | News

Serious damage has been caused to a shopping center in Leicestershire after a massive fire broke out overnight. The fire at Thurmaston Shopping Centre, on Thorpe Lane, Barkby, was reported at around 4am on Saturday, triggering a major emergency response as firefighters raced to battle the flames.

Eight fire trucks, two aircraft and more than 40 firefighters attended the scene. This is believed to be one of the largest emergency responses in recent memory. Residents were asked to keep windows and doors closed due to the heavy smoke cloud surrounding the affected area.

Photos taken from the scene show that a fierce fire engulfed many stores in the shopping mall and part of the roof collapsed. The cause of the fire remains unclear at this stage.

The fire is understood to have started in a Mountain Warehouse and neighboring Greggs and M&S are also closing due to the fire.

Other retailers in the unit, including Puregym, Superdrug, Boots and Sports Direct, are also expected to reopen later today.

Local resident Jordan Slack, 29, told Leicestershire Live: “I couldn’t believe it. Nothing like this has ever happened here before.”

“I went downstairs this morning to go to the gym, but it was obviously closed. At around 5am, photos of the fire came from local WhatsApp groups. I was shocked.

“So this mall has been here for about 20 years and it’s the first major event we’ve had here.”

A significant number of onlookers gathered nearby this morning to assess the devastation and observe firefighters battling the flames.

“There’s nothing really going on in Thurmaston, as you can see everyone is watching what’s going on here this morning,” Jordan added.

“When I first saw the photos, I thought the fire would engulf the entire shopping mall, but thankfully it was stopped before it grew any further.”