Watch video of fire at Chesterfield laundrette

A couple who live above a Chesterfield laundrette which went up in flames on Tuesday night have spoken of how the drama unfolded.
Fire at laundretteFire at laundrette
Fire at laundrette

The blaze broke out at The Wassh Inn on Sheffield Road in the Stonegravels area of the town at around 7.50pm.

Firefighters from Chesterfield, Staveley, Dronfield, Mansfield and Clay Cross were all called to The Wash Inn terraced building - which was ‘well alight’ when they arrived at the scene.

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They were joined by the aerial ladder platform to put out the fire.Surrounding roads in the area were closed while firefighters dealt with the incident.

Fire at laundretteFire at laundrette
Fire at laundrette

Officials from the gas and electric boards were also at the scene as investigations into the blaze got underway.

Fire crews were still at the scene until around 1am yesterday morning.

Elliott Martin-French (25), and his 23-year-old girlfriend Hannah Batty live in a flat above the burnt-out laundrette.

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“At 7.30pm we could both smell smoke,” said Elliott. “We were both on our laptops and thought we had left the oven on.

Elliot Martin-French and Hannah BattyElliot Martin-French and Hannah Batty
Elliot Martin-French and Hannah Batty

“I looked out of the window and saw two guys pointing at the laundrette.

“I then ran out of the flat and saw smoke billowing out of the laundrette.”

Hannah was one of several people to dial 999 and the first of several fire crews arrived shortly after.

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Elliott said: “The fire service and police told us to move away because there were fears of an explosion.”

Fire at laundretteFire at laundrette
Fire at laundrette

They say their flat has not been damaged by the blaze, but smoke has entered its roof area and they will have to stay with relatives until the smell has cleared.

No one was injured in the blaze and a cause has yet to be established.

A Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “A fire investigation was completed but the source of the fire has not been named.”

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