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From the South Wales Argus - reporting a fire in my home city.
TEN houses are now ablaze as a major fire in Newport's Marlborough Road spreads.
Police and the fire service have cordoned off the whole of Marlborough Road and part of Bedford Road. Flames are now 25 feet high and smoke is belching hundreds of feet into the sky.
One of the residents evacuated from their homes is Wali Dad, 65. He was in work when he got a frantic phone call to say the fire had broken out. His wife Fatima, two daughters and two grandchildren were told to leave their house.
Standing behind the cordon, Mr Dad said "I think my house has gone. It's finished, just burnt."
Evacuated residents are due to be bussed to Newport Centre.
BBC News had this to say....
At least 12 houses have been gutted by a fire which broke out at a joinery workshop and spread into a street.Up to 60 people have been evacuated by Gwent Police from their homes in Marlborough Road, Maindee, with more expected to have to leave.
An electricity sub-station was also affected, with 260 homes losing power, the gas supply is shut off, and the train line next to the road closed.
The blaze broke out at about 1445 BST at the Limebright Joinery.
Those evacuated have been taken to the Newport Centre, where they are being cared for by Newport Council.
Police said the seat of the fire was in the workshop, but it is not being treated as suspicious.
A cordon is in place keeping people away from the area.
The workshop is near the railway track, and First Great Western said all lines between Bristol and Newport were closed, and warned commuters of delays.
Plumes of black smoke were seen pouring from the building by witnesses shortly after the fire was discovered.
A bystander, who did not want to be named, said: "I saw there was lots of smoke coming from near my house in Maindee and I noticed there was a fire in Marlborough Road.
"I went to have a look and it looks like there is a timber yard behind the houses and in front of the train line.
"It seems to have spread to some of the houses because there were flames seen from some of the windows."...
From the Argus:
Shaun Connor, 40, of Marlborough Road, returned from work to find his street cordoned off.
He said: "When I got home the fire had started to spread.
"It just looked like a bomb site, it was awful."
Kerri Bynon, 43, a kitchen assistant who lives in Marlborough Road, went to Newport Centre with her two elderly neighbours.
She said: "The first thing I saw was the fire engine as I was coming home from work, then as I got closer, I saw the smoke billowing.
"My kids and dogs were in the house so I rushed in to see them, then we waited until we were evacuated.
"Now my husband and kids are at my mother-in-law's house, but I came here with the two ladies who live in number 66.
"One is 90 and the other is 91, I shop for them once a week and visit them most evenings.
"They are very confused at the moment so I wanted to be here to give them some support."
From the Argus:
Fire chief Michael Flannagan said today: "This is definitely the worst fire Newport has seen since the Second World War."
He continued: "The demolition team have made the properties safe so our crews are able to work on them.
The electric and gas companies are hoping to be able to restore gas services back to the houses by the end of the day and our aim in to have the vast majority of people moved back into the houses by the end of the day.
Tags:newport gwent
Marlborough Road
Maindee
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