Newcastle Fire: What we know about the blaze in Byker on Wednesday evening

Fire crews attended a large fire in Byker on Wednesday evening following reports of plumes of black smoke rising from a commercial garage in the area.

The spot on St Lawrence Road first went up in flames after 4:00pm and emergency services were called at 4:10pm with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service arriving five minutes later.

Six fire engines from Byker, Tynemouth, Newcastle, Wallsend, Gateshead, Gosforth and West Denton stations all made the trip to the site.

Firefighters were able to quickly control the fire, stopping it from spreading to a car repair shop where 35 vehicles were housed.

No one was inside the property at the time of the incident

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed there were no injuries as a result of the blaze.

The fire is believed to have started due to fuel catching alight in the garage workshop. The incident is not being treated as malicious or suspicious.

At 5:10pm Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service announced that the fire was under control, but encouraged local residents to keep their windows and doors closed in order to prevent any remaining smoke entering houses.

Crews remained on the scene until 7:55pm to ensure the safety of the site and was left with the business owners of the site.

Group manager Steve Thomas, who helped lead the response to the fire, said: “This was a fantastic response that started in our Control Room and ended with our crews safely extinguishing what was a significant fire.

“It was a real example of working together to keep our communities safe and by isolating the fire we were able to prevent thousands of pounds of further damage.

"We also worked closely with our colleagues at Northumbria Police, the North East Ambulance Service and the gas and electric board as part of a multi-agency response.

“We also want to thank residents in the area who followed our advice and ensured we could carry out our emergency response safely.”

Although the smoke has now cleared, the service are unable to suggest how long this took due to the early sunset and cloudy night.