FIREFIGHTERS from Whitchurch have released the details of a fire that engulfed a former care home in the town on Monday night.

A number of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) crews from Whitchurch, Wem and Prees, and later Market Drayton, were called to Edgeley House and Court at around 9pm.

The home has been closed since June 2022 and was once one of the biggest homes in the town, and even came equipped with its own bar for residents.

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The fire and the home, which is now closed to residents, could be seen for miles around, according to firefighters from Whitchurch station, in Bridgewater Road, and action was taken immediately.

And firefighters from nearby Malpas were also called to help their Shropshire colleagues.

A spokesman for the station posted on social media to explain what action was required from firefighters.

They said: “It was a busy night for the crew.

“At around 9am we were called by fire control to smoke and flames seen coming from Edgeley House along with the crew from Prees.

“Smoke could be seen from a distance.

“On our arrival we had to gain access to the gated derelict site and we needed to remove the metal sheets that was securing parts of the building to start our attempts to extinguish the blaze.

“We then requested a further two appliances attend these coming from Wem and Malpas.

“The fire was brought under control and the four crews were relieved by colleagues from Market Drayton Fire Station and Wellington to ensure hotspots were dampened down.”

The spokesman for the station house added that the call-out to Edgeley House and Court was not Whitchurch’s only action of the evening.

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They explained that in the early hours of Tuesday morning, a call to aid their Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) colleagues at an industrial estate fire near Malpas was made and responded to.

They added: “We were then called at 4.35am by fire control to return the over-the-border favour to Malpas who required our attendance at a building fire at Hampton.”

Commentators in the station’s post were full of praise for the firefighters and their efforts with one calling them ‘truly amazing…you risk your lives for others’.