Firefighters have identified the cause of a fire that ripped through a city centre pharmacy.
Berry Street was closed from outside St Luke's Bombed Out Church to the corner of Seel Street on Thursday morning after the blaze broke out at Euro Chemists. Witnesses saw smoke billowing from the front entrance of the pharmacy which was broken down so firefighters could gain access to the building.
Five fire engines arrived at the scene at 8.40am, with firefighters splitting into two teams. Two firefighters searched the flats above the pharmacy, while another six focused on trying to locate and extinguish the fire.
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Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was found and extinguished shortly after. Work was being carried out underground behind the building at the time of the blaze. Workers were evacuated and a "comprehensive roll call" carried out.
In an update today, a spokesperson from the fire service said: "Following a full investigation into the cause of the fire, it was determined as accidental ignition, due to an electrical event within the electrical cabling in the dispensary area. A full handover to the manager of the property has been completed."
People living in the flats above the pharmacy were forced to evacuate after waking up to smoke filling their home. It's unclear whether residents have been able to return to their flats since the incident.
However, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said members of their protection team have carried out inspections of the flats and will be making contact with the local housing authority in regards to the incident.
Angel Macias, who lives above the pharmacy, told the ECHO: "I woke up with black smoke in the house. I heard the alarm at 8.33am and thought it was an alarm from my flat mate until he knocked on my door and said 'fire, fire'.
Angel, 35, managed to grab his laptop before leaving the building with his flat mate Alberto Moreno via the emergency exit. Angel added: "We tried to go out from the principle gate but the black smoke was inside the building so we used the emergency exit."
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