Animals feared to have died in garden centre blaze
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Several animals are feared to have died in a blaze which destroyed a Norfolk garden centre.
Six fire engines and more than 40 personnel tackled Friday’s fire at Scratby Garden Centre, with flames seen rising in the sky two miles down the road.
The centre is home to animals including rabbits, fish, ferrets, chickens and birds.
Three ferrets and two dogs were seen by local residents to be helped out of the centre, but the fate of the rest of the animals has not been officially confirmed.
At the time of the blaze, Scratby Garden Centre owner Sarah Lawson was in Great Yarmouth when she heard the news.
She said: “I got there as quick as I could, I am in a state of shock. The garden centre is burnt out. Some animals won’t make it I just hope not too many.”
Scott Norman, station manager at Carrow, added: “It was a very significant fire and there is a lot of damage.
“We did what we could to preserve as much of the building as we could.”
Fire appliances were called out at 3.10pm to the scene of the fire. Six crews from Yarmouth, Martham, Gorleston, Sprowston and Stalham were on the scene as well as police and ambulance crews.
Nobody required any treatment as a result of the flames, though one or two people went into the building to try to put the fire out before the crews arrived and rescue some animals.
Fire crews remained on scene until the later hours of the evening.
Fritz Schumpf, of Beach Road, said: “I could smell the flames from my house. I went outside to see what was happening and I could see flames and really thick black smoke rising into the air. I went down there and was handed one of the cages with a ferret but there was lots of animals in there. Lots of rabbits, fish, birds, owls and more.”
Another resident, who wished not to be named, said that the fire was the “saddest thing” she could ever remember in the village and feared that many animals had died.
Investigations will continue today as to why the building went up in flames.
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