Fire that destroyed library treated as 'arson'

3 hours ago

Federica BedendoNorth East and Cumbria

News image — The fire gutted the former library in Billingham

BBC A red and white fire and rescue service tape cordons off the area around the former Billingham library building, which has been gutted by fire. The building has no roof. The side of the building facing the camera would have had a metal structure or cladding, but it is charred by the fire and partly destroyed. The cordon tape is set around a birch tree on a grassed area outside the building. — The fire gutted the former library in Billingham

A fire that destroyed a library is being investigated as a deliberate blaze.

Crews from Cleveland fire service were called to Billingham's former library, at the back of Billingham Health Centre, in Queensway, on Tuesday at about 18:20 BST.

A spokesperson for the service said everyone was accounted for but the derelict building had sustained "100% damage".

Cleveland Police said it was reviewing CCTV footage and speaking to witnesses, adding: "At the moment the fire is being treated as arson."

Eight fire engines from seven stations attended the scene.

Images from Tuesday showed the building well alight while fire crews worked to extinguish the flames.

In the aftermath, images show a building ravaged by the flames, with charred debris inside the property.

Supplied An orange inferno blaze lights up a building in Billingham in Stockton-on-Tees. There is a large fire in a building on a road which has two traffic lights. — The building was alight on Tuesday evening

On Wednesday afternoon, Cleveland Police said the surrounding roads had reopened.

However, it said emergency services remained at the site to investigate.

Insp Barnes said the fire had caused "significant disruption" for "the public, shops and businesses in the area" and asked anyone with information to come forward.