Black smoke fills sky as fire service tackles blaze in Newcastle residential area
A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after fire services are responded to a large fire at the old Henderson Hall in the Heaton area of Newcastle.
More than 50 fire fighters and ten fire engines are tackling the blaze with residents in nearby areas encouraged to keep their windows closed.
The building itself is believed to be vacant however the North East Ambulance service are also in attendance as a precautionary measure.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “Just before 2.30pm today, police received a report of a fire at Henderson Old Hall on Etherstone Avenue, Newcastle.
“Police and colleagues from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service are currently on scene and a cordon is in place.
“At this time the incident is being treated as suspected arson and police have arrested one male.
"Etherstone Avenue is closed and a diversion is in place. Please avoid the area and use alternate routes where possible.
"We'd also ask residents in the area to keep their windows and doors closed at this time."
“Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101 or the ‘Tell Us Something’ page of our website, quoting log NP-20230608-0663.”
Meanwhile, David Leach, area manager of the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue service said: “This is a significant fire at a building that we don’t believe to be occupied.
“We are not aware of anyone being unaccounted for at this time and our focus now is on bringing this fire under control.
“A cordon is in place and we have nearly 50 firefighters on scene. That includes 10 fire appliances and two specialist ALP vehicles.
“We would ask residents and businesses in the area to keep windows and doors closed as there has been a significant amount of smoke in the air.
“Please respect the cordon that is in place and we are likely to have a presence on site through the evening.”
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