People woke up to thick black smoke filling their flat as a fire engulfed the pharmacy below.
Five fire engines were called to Berry Street in Liverpool city centre this morning after a fire broke out at Euro Chemists pharmacy. Witnesses saw smoke billowing from the front entrance of the pharmacy which was broken down so firefighters could gain access to the building.
Crews arrived at 8.40am and split into different teams, with two firefighters searching the flats above, while another six focused on trying to locate and extinguish the fire. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was found and extinguished shortly after.
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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.
Angel Macias, who lives in the flats 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."
Alberto, 30, said: "I'm worried about my flat. When I woke up I heard the alarm so I went out of my room because I thought 'I want to check on the house maybe it’s my kitchen.'
"When I came back to my room I saw the black smoke and in that moment I was panicked."
Berry Street remained closed from outside St Luke's Bombed Out Church to the junction with Seel Street while fire crews worked at the scene. A number of businesses were inside the cordon including Betfred, Pizza King, Mei Mei Chinese Restaurant and Richer Sounds.
Two teams of firefighters checked the scene for hotspots to see if the fire had spread, while an audit of the pharmacy and flats above was carried out. Berry Street reopened at around 10.30am.
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