Firefighters tackle huge blaze at former working men's club

MORE than 35 firefighters from across South Yorkshire were tackling a huge blaze at a disused working men's club in Doncaster throughout yesterday.

Crews were called to the run-down Granby Working Men's Club in

Broomhouse Lane, Edlington, at about 3.45am.

At the height of the blaze six fire engines, an aerial ladder platform and the technical rescue unit dealt with the fire using three main jets and hose reels.

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A spokesman for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue (SYFR) said no one was in the club, which was disused, and there were no evacuations from nearby housing.

Broomhouse Lane remained closed yesterday, and four fire engines were still at the scene damping down the blaze. An investigation into the cause of the fire has also been launched.

Meanwhile, a three-month-long consultation being run by SYFR, on how to deal with budget cuts, is still under way and is set to end on Monday, August 2.

The service is asking people in South Yorkshire how it should save 9m a year to cope with expected cuts in funding.

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Service chiefs say they are c anticipating budget cuts of between 10 and 20 per cent between 2012 and 2014, due to the savings likely to be made by the new coalition Government.

Currently, the service spends around 36m a year on full-time firefighters, a further 12m on support staff, 999 control staff and part-time firefighters and the other 12m on premises, vehicles, equipment and other costs.

Chief fire officer Mark Smitherman said: "The expected funding challenges leave us with a delicate balance, which we have to get right to maximise public safety within the budgets available."