Leeds city centre fire: Fire officer reveals extent of damage after blaze near Millennium Square

Firefighters have been investigating the possible cause of the fire which ripped through a derelict building in Leeds city centre last night (15 October).

Fire crews from across West Yorkshire were on site within minutes after the blaze rapidly took hold of the vacant Leonardo Building on Cookridge Street.

Incident commander Dale Gardiner, the senior fire officer who co-ordinated the big operation last night, said: “Due to the number of calls, the initial incident commander had ten engines on scene to deal with the fire, which meant it could be contained to the top three floors.

“It was dealt with quite quickly and crews worked fantastically hard to stop it spreading further or going into other nearby buildings.”

The fire began just before 8pm on Saturday evening, with flames seen coming out the top of the multi-storey building near Millennium Square and Leeds General Infirmary.

Local pubs and bars were evacuated as crews from across West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) worked together to tackle the blaze.

“It was dealt with quite quickly and crews worked fantastically hard to stop it spreading further or going into other nearby buildings,” Dale went on to say.

“The initial incident commander did an excellent job in evacuating buildings around it, alleviating any risk and giving time to gets appliances in place. Once the fire was out, we were able to eventually let people back into those evacuated buildings and scale back our operation.”

It is believed the fire started in a section near the top of the building, and quickly took hold of the top three floors.

The building is currently being renovated, with the fire taking hold of plastic wrapping and scaffolding surrounding the site.

“The fire itself was in the wrap surrounding the building. It was the scaffolding which had caught fire, which made it difficult for crews to put out,” said Dale.

“We had special appliances on scene including aerial ladders, with crews well trained to stop the fire from the outside. This then allowed us to put firefighters inside the building, creating a pinch point by stopping fire outside and inside at same time.

“It is difficult to say as yet what the extent of damage the fire has caused, but it looks like it was mainly contained to the outside. Fire investigators and building contractors were on site last night and continue to be on site today.”

No one was injured as a result of the fire, with those first on scene last night credited with getting the building fire quickly under control.

"From the initial snapshot of how quickly the fire had engulfed the top three floors, it was clear this had the potential to result in a major incident. I can’t praise highly enough the fantastic work of initial crews on that incident, who can be credited with getting this under control as quickly and professionally as they did.”

An investigation is ongoing, with the cause of the fire expected to be revealed over the next few days.