Suspected arson and electrical fire: Two pharmacies hit by blaze on same day
In less than 24 hours, two UK pharmacies have been damaged by fires – one by a suspected electrical fault and the other “started deliberately”, staff have been “led to believe”.
A Stoke-on-Trent pharmacy was scorched by a “fire on [its] roof” just hours before another fire caused “considerable damage” to a North Wales pharmacy, C+D has learned.
Staffordshire police yesterday (August 22) told C+D that it is “appealing for information following a deliberate fire at a business…on Ford Green Road” that it attended just after 3.15am on August 21.
The force said that “tarpaulin covering the roof of the building had caught on fire” but that “fire crews successfully extinguished the flames” and “no-one was injured”.
After searching the area and examining CCTV footage “from local businesses”, officers are now asking “anyone who was in the area at the time and has information” to get in touch.
“Call us on 101 quoting incident number 46 of August 21 or message us using live chat on our website,” police said.
In an “upsetting” social media post, Grahams Pharmacy said that it was alerted to “a fire on [its] roof”, adding that staff have been “led to believe [it] was started deliberately”.
“While the fire was kept under control quickly, it's still caused us to have some damage to inside the pharmacy,” it added.
“We appreciate your patience while we deal with this”, the pharmacy said, adding that it is “open as normal”.
“Necessary repairs”
Meanwhile, just before 7:30pm on the same day, four vehicles were mobilised to attend “an accidental fire” in a North Wales Rowlands branch, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service told C+D.
The pharmacy chain said that it regretted to “confirm that there was a fire at [its] Rowlands Pharmacy in Rhos on Sea” on Wednesday evening.
While Rowlands said that “the cause of the fire is not yet known and investigations are ongoing”, the Fire and Rescue Service told C+D that it is “believed to have been caused by an electrical fault”.
The service added that the blaze resulted “in 25% fire damage and 95% heat damage”.
Rowland said that it was “working quickly to provide a temporary solution” for patients as it makes “necessary repairs” to the “considerable damage”.
“In the meantime, we are advising patients to visit our pharmacy in Deganwy, where our team is currently based,” it added.
“Thankfully, all our colleagues and the residents of the flats above are safe,” it said.
In March, Liverpool’s Euro Chemist announced plans to unveil its “fresh and sparkly new” pharmacy one year after a fire left its premises “completely ruined”.
C+D reported in January last year that Euro Chemist, which has operated from Berry Street for over 40 years, had been devastated by an inferno that had left it with smoke and fire damage.
