Fire crews rushed to the scene on Monday morning of a devastating fire at PM Racing on Church Street in Shildon.
A spokesperson for County Durham & Darlington Fire & Rescue Service said: “At 10.12am today (Monday) we received a report of a fire within a shop on Church Street in Shildon.
“We immediately deployed firefighters to the area, with a total of five fire engines and one aerial ladder platform in attendance.”
Thankfully, there were no injuries in the blaze, but the entire shop has been gutted and the building’s roof also collapsed.
Nearby businesses were evacuated as the flames rose into the sky while buses and cars were diverted and the road was cordoned off by officers from Durham Constabulary, who were called just before 10.35am by the fire service to request assistance.
Staff at Shildon Alive reported smoke coming into their community shop and kitchen and quickly evacuated the building.
As a result, they were unable to complete their meals on wheels orders.
However they told the Crier that “everyone has been understanding and were more bothered about (PM Racing shop owner) Patrick and if he was okay”.
Patrizio “Patrick” Marchetti’s family-owned motorcycle maintenance shop has been a fixture of Church Street since his business opened over 26 years ago and many residents took to Facebook in shock to send their thoughts and prayers to the family.
An investigation into the cause is under way.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
