Belvedere fish and chip shop fire compared to bomb explosion
2:50pm Wednesday 2nd January 2013 in News By Sam Christie
The scene of a fire at Mr Man's Fish 'n' Chips in Nuxley Road, Belvedere
TERRIFIED neighbours living above a burning Bexley takeaway have compared the blaze to a bomb explosion.
People were forced to evacuate their homes after Mr Man’s Fish ‘n’ Chips in Belvedere caught fire on Wednesday morning. (Jan 2)
Around 20 firefighters were called to Nuxley Road at 10.25am when the shop’s ventilation system caught alight.
Steve O’Grady, 42, who was awoken by a neighbour banging on his door, told News Shopper: “It seemed like something out of war, it was unbelievable.
“There was thick black acrid smoke pouring out of the shop, I had never seen anything like it before - it was like a bomb had hit it.”
In addition to the four fire engines from Plumstead, Erith, and Bexley stations, police and ambulance crews were also called to the busy shopping parade.
Nobody was injured but an asthma sufferer was treated for smoke inhalation.
About half of the downstairs takeaway was damaged but crews managed to prevent it spreading to neighbouring shops and flats by ripping out the ventilation which had caught alight.
Neighbour Kelly, 29, who had to flee her home, said: “I put my heating on and there was smoke coming through the radiator – I didn’t know what to do or what to take with me.
“We were told if it would have been five minutes longer the flames would have hit the roof.”
Police closed off Nuxley Road at the mini-roundabout for about 90 minutes while the fire was dealt with.
Andrew Rickard, London Fire Brigade’s borough commander for Greenwich, told News Shopper: “We are not treating the fire as suspicious but it seems the heat levels on the chip fat cooker were slightly high and the fire caught the ventilation system.”
The devastated chip shop’s owner, named locally as Bobby Man, was too upset to speak.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Comments(13)
the wall
says...
4:44pm Wed 2 Jan 13
it was like a bomb had hit it.”..............
. What a twaty thing to say.
What are the people of Belvedere going to do for dinner tonight?
rojo174
says...
5:15pm Wed 2 Jan 13
rojo174
says...
5:19pm Wed 2 Jan 13
goldenbroomboy
says...
8:26pm Wed 2 Jan 13
Just ask anybody who does live there. Or anybody who lives in Bexley.
Only_me!!
says...
9:10pm Wed 2 Jan 13
matt 2285
says...
11:00pm Wed 2 Jan 13
What a **** of course its in the bexley borough
goldenbroomboy
says...
6:59am Thu 3 Jan 13
matt 2285 wrote:That's like saying that Biggin Hill is in Bromley (try walking from one to the other).
Belvedere is not in Bexley. If it was it would be more expensive to live there. What a **** of course its in the bexley borough
Also, how many people in Bexley claim that they live in Belvedere?
matt 2285
says...
3:03pm Thu 3 Jan 13
quite a few as its in THE BEXLEY BOROUGH
goldenbroomboy
says...
4:37pm Thu 3 Jan 13
That's a new one on me.
Indigenous Pensioner
says...
10:14am Fri 4 Jan 13
nemesister
says...
4:57pm Fri 4 Jan 13
Dangerous_1981
says...
12:55am Sun 6 Jan 13
Unmarked, Parking spaces in the stoney car park out the back could have seen anything?
At least it didn't end up like the incident in barnehurst by the bus garage when that poor 16 year old girl died.
handymanchris says...
12:17pm Wed 2 Jan 13