Major fire breaks out at Falmouth Docks: Latest updates

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The Packet will be bringing you all the news and reactions to the explosive situation. Send us your pictures, videos or call us with your eyewitness experience. 01326 213336, email editorial@packetseries.co.uk.

UPDATE: Cornwall Council has released a list of frequently asked questions, with answers, relating to the fire at Falmouth Docks this morning.

The full list can be found by clicking the link below.

UPDATE: University College Falmouth has issued a statement reassuring parents worried about their children who are students in the town, following the fire at Falmouth Docks this morning.

The statement from the university reads: “We would like to reassure parents that no student was hurt as a result of this explosion and that if you have not yet heard from your son or daughter, they are being well-cared for by our accommodation and welfare team.

The full statement can be found in a separate story on thepacket.co.uk

UPDATE: Evacuees are beginning to return home after being forced out their houses during a major fire at Falmouth Docks.

With the flames now out, Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service has carried out a risk assessment of the situation and has said the properties still within the exclusion zone are 1 Tredynas Road, 1-2 Pendennis Rise, 19 – 28 Pendennis Rise and Martime Studios (student accommodation).

All other properties are now accessible.

Cornwall Council has set up an emergency contact number, 0800 7 313247 for anyone needing advice.

The council’s emergency management service has set up a rest centre at the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Melvill Road Falmouth and that facility is now open to receive anyone who needs help.

A review of whether the centre is still needed will be carried out reviewed over the course of the evening. If it is no longer required, alternative measures will be put in place and details will be available via the emergency contact number.

UPDATE: There are reports that the fire at Falmouth Docks is finally out, around seven hours after it began.

Information is still coming in but it is believed that firefighters have successfully extinguished the flames and are now damping down.

At one stage there were 56 firefighters on the scene, either putting out the flames or cooling nearby cylinders.

UPDATE: Afternoon and evening shifts at the docks have been cancelled while the emergency services deal with the incident.

The latest news from the fire service suggests the situation is now more stable, with crews concentrating on cooling the 240 canisters involved in the fire.

However, it is still believed the exclusion zone will stay in place until tomorrow morning at least.

It means more than 150 people who have been evacuated from their homes around Falmouth Docks will not be allowed to return before then.

They are currently spread around the town, staying with friends, with some at the Falmouth Hotel.

Giving a statement outside the docks gate earlier this morning, Inspector Miles Topham stressed that the incident was “still ongoing.”

There are 18 acetylene tanks that are partially open, which are causing the most worry.

A further 70 are full, which could potentially explode, out of a total of 240 cylinders.

The fire started just as workers were going around their day-to-day duties and there would be no investigation into the cause.

He said there were no injuries reported, due to the good work of the fire service who had taken control of the incident.

The majority of workers had all been evacuated by road, apart from a few who would remain in safe places around the docks.

UPDATE: Falmouth Docks fire video from the BBC

Update: Falmouth Docks will be making a statement about the fire at 11am. Check back soon for the latest news.

An eyewitness has sent in this fantastic picture taken at docks as the fire broke out

Between 30 and 40 potentially explosive acetylene cylinders are either on fire or at risk of setting alight.

A couple of explosions have already been heard and 40 are at the scene, trying to put out the fire and also cool the remaining cylinders to try and prevent them from going up also.

Two small areas of cylinders are currently alight but the fear is that two larger areas could also catch on fire.

Experts have warned that if this happened and the cylinders exploded they could go up “like a bomb” and it would be impossible to predict where it would land.

John Warren, a former firefighter, has described the situation as “critical.”

The first warning came around 8am, when the warning sirens at the docks sounded continuously for ten minutes.

The whole of the docks has been evacuated, as well as the surrounding area including the student flats on Pendennis Rise.

There have been no reports of any injuries.

The Packet will be bringing you all the news and reactions to the explosive situation. Send us your pictures, videos or call us with you eyewitness experience. 01326 213336, email editorial@packetseries.co.uk.