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Seventy firefighters tackle blaze at former school

Alex Pope
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service An aerial view of a building that has been destroyed in a fire. The building is covered in ash and soot and some smoke is rising from the site.Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service
The fire service said an investigation would begin later on Wednesday

About 70 firefighters tackled a large blaze at a former school in Suffolk overnight.

The county's fire service said it was called to the former Parkway Middle School, on Park Road in Haverhill, at about 20:20 BST on Tuesday.

It advised residents to keep their windows and doors closed, to avoid the area and not to travel towards the incident unless essential.

The incident was scaled down by 01:30 and Adam Eagle, the fire service operations commander, said an investigation into the cause would take place.

Police officers and ambulance teams were also at the scene.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service The back of a firefighter in the foreground holding a hose with a jet of water aimed at a smoking building during the night. The building is giving off an orange glowSuffolk Fire and Rescue Service
Firefighters worked through the night to bring the blaze under control

"There will be a presence for most of the day hot-spotting and doing the investigation, so there will be disruption in the area," said Eagle.

One eyewitness, who did not want to be named, said there was a lot of smoke, it was "dark and scary" and that their dogs were upset by the noise.

The service said it received more than 60 calls about the fire.

It confirmed that smoke was seen "from a long distance away".

Supplied A large plume of smoke over houses, showing a tree. Thick black smoke and the tops of several buildings are visible.Supplied
Emergency services were called to Park Road in Haverhill on Tuesday evening

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