Firefighters from Newton Abbot had to deal with an underground fire in the Jetty Marsh Road area in the early hours of Sunday morning (August 9).

A crew from Newton Abbot Fire Station was called out to reports of an explosion and fire below ground in the area at around 12.30am.

On arriving at the scene firefighters discovered a sub-surface inspection hatch to be well alight with the hatch cover blown off. Electricity was visibly arcing from the pit, and a variety of BT communication fibre optic cables and electric equipment were burning in the inspection chamber.

A spokesman for Newton Abbot Fire Station said: “WIth the power being live we set up an exclusion zone and closely monitored the fire until both National Grid and telecommunication engineers could arrive.

Hot stuff - the blazing inspection chamber as viewed by thermal imaging camera. Photo: Newton Abbot Fire Station
Hot stuff - the blazing inspection chamber as viewed by thermal imaging camera. Photo: Newton Abbot Fire Station (Newton Abbot Fire Station)

“When electrical engineers reached the scene they informed us that they had isolated the necessary electrical feeds and were happy the equipment within was no longer live. As a result, the Incident Commander instructed one firefighter to use a C02 fire extinguisher to tackle the flames.”

Crews continued to monitor temperatures, which at some points were in excess of 800°C.

Newton firefighters remained at the scene to ensure of no re-ignition of the fire before safely handing the incident over to National Grid personnel.

Firefighter uses a CO2 extinguisher on the blaze. Photo: Newton Abbot Fire Station
Firefighter uses a CO2 extinguisher on the blaze. Photo: Newton Abbot Fire Station ( Newton Abbot Fire Station)