Roof collapses as firefighters tackle late night blaze in Nelson

THE roof of a derelict building has totally collapsed following a fire in Nelson.

Just after midnight on Tuesday, six fire engines from Nelson, Burnley and Colne, were called to the fire at the old Spiritualist Church in Vernon Street.

Despite their best efforts to keep the fire under control, firefighters were unable to contain the blaze and flames quickly spread to the rest of the building.

By 1am the entire roof had collapsed.

The aftermath of the fire in Vernon Street, Nelson

Crews were still trying to make the site secure at 7am, after battling with the blaze through the night.

A fire service spokesman said: "The air support unit was deployed to gain better aerial footage of the incident and for the safety of the public Vernon Street has been closed."

Vernon Street in Nelson will remain closed for some time

The old church, which is next to the Unity Hall Wellbeing Centre and sits adjacent to a playground, has been completely ravished with only the external structures left in place.

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County Cllr Azhar Ali, who helps run Unity Hall as part of a community project for Nelson Town Council, said: "The building next door has been empty for a long time. We wanted to buy it to extend the community hall. But now we are concerned it's a dangerous building and will need to be demolished.

"It's a tragedy really as it's a very old building. Our main concern now is making sure the residents in the immediate vicinity haven't been affected."

A cordon has been placed round the building extending to behind the playground

At 9am, one fire engine remained at the scene and firefighters continued to dampen down the smouldering ashes to ensure the fire did not reignite.

A large cordon has been placed around the perimeter of the building, which stretches as far back as Thomas Street. 

Electricity in the area was turned off last night but this morning all services were back up and running. 

A number of road closures are in place and will remain so until Lancashire County Council deem the area to be safe. 

The roof completely collapsed

A resident of Railway Street said: "The fire woke me up and I was very scared. 

"There was a lot of smoke and it was dark because the electricity had gone off.

"Firefighters told me to stay inside and close all the windows and doors."

A spokesperson for the fire service said that crews would have to remain at the scene for some time.

"We will stay here for a period of time while we check the stability of building and continue to make sure there are no pockets of fire still burning."

The cause of the fire at this time is unknown, but fire chiefs say a full investigation will be carried out in due course.