Emergency services issue update on ‘major incident’ that forced evacuation of 50 homes in Derbyshire village

At 3.15pm on Friday, August 12, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to attend a major incident off Fox Lane in Creswell.

A fire affecting three fields had spread to a neighbouring farm complex, and 50 nearby properties were evacuated. A number of roads were closed by emergency services, including Elmton Road, Fox Street, Wood Lane and Frithwood Lane.

At around 5.41pm, Derbyshire Police announced that a rest centre has been set up at the Creswell Events centre in Elmton Road for those who were evacuated. At its height, 16 crews were involved in tackling the blaze.

By 8.15pm, DFRS began to scale back the incident, with some crews remaining at the scene to damp down any hot spots. Those asked to leave their homes were allowed to return, and all road closures barring that of Wood Lane were lifted.

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DRFS group manager Darren Perrott said: “We thank the local people for their support in looking after those people and looking after fire crews and our partner agencies. A big thanks to the fire crews.”

A spokesperson for the Bolsover Safer Neighbourhood Team said: “We would just like to say a huge thank you to the staff at Creswell Events Centre. They opened their doors yesterday in response to the fire and helped become a safe place for evacuated residents. They also supplied food and refreshments to residents and emergency services.

“Thank you to all the residents who supplied food and drinks to all the emergency services who were in attendance. We were very grateful to the staff at The Black Diamond pub for supplying cool water. Thank you to PC Jake Stones from Shirebrook Police SNT for stopping on way past the end of shift to assist.

“Thanks for the amazing job Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service did yet again in extreme weather conditions. Also our colleagues from East Midlands Ambulance Service. Lastly, we would like to thank the residents and businesses of Creswell for epitomising the true spirit of community.”