THE blaze that gutted a trading centre at Dawlish Warren was discussed at a preliminary fire report meeting of Teignbridge Council executives on Tuesday.

Cllr Wally Protheroe, Dawlish deputy mayor who was present at the meeting, expressed concern with the diameter of fire hydrant pipes and access to the Warren.

'I wasn't happy with the lack of water access on the night they used the hydrant by the Warren Trading Company. It doesn't have the pressure to operate properly,' said Cllr Protheroe. 'They had to use a six inch main which was located outside Gerald's Mini-Mart and lay the hose from there.'

Of the 10 appliances at the scene, only a recently commissioned 4x4 special Ford Ranger light appliance and a small 250 gallon water bowser were able to reach the fire, but those alone were not enough to tackle the blaze.

'What is another problem is access to the Warren for emergency vehicles,' continued Cllr Protheroe. 'I would like to see permanent emergency access over the railway to allow for situations such as this. It's not money, it's the bureaucracy that is keeping this from happening.'

The fire service has asked the council to explore with Network Rail whether it would consider allowing access across the temporary rail crossing for 999 emergency calls. Network Rail has, however, reiterated Railtraick's opinion from 1994 that 'provision of a permanent level crossing, albeit for emergency use only, was not an option given the constraints imposed by the Health and Safety Executive with regards to new level crossings'.

The rail company considers that improved access to the Warren should be provided by means of a road over rail bridge or an improvement to the existing bridge. In either case the capital works would not be funded by the rail industry.

Problems have also been experienced by Network Rail in gaining approval to lay a new water main under the bridge. The rail company has challenged the council's ownership and the matter is being looked at by the council's legal advisers.

Fire service personnel also stated on previous occasions that they view the measures that have been taken so far as short to medium term, and that full vehicular access to the site must be the optimum solution. A meeting is being arranged between the deputy chief fire officer and chief executive as part of the on-going liaison to discuss Warren access and it was suggested that the council invites representatives from the fire service, building control, planning and property.

'An emergency overview and scrutiny working party is also being formed in which we will look at the incident in depth, and what could have been done better,' added Cllr Protheroe. 'It's the future that matters.'

The police and fire service arson task force has examined the site for signs of criminal activity and it is most likely to have started in rubbish bins at the rear of the property. Fire chiefs are urging traders to ensure rubbish is properly contained and cleared regularly and that rubbish is not placed against the walls.

The enquiry into the fire continues.