Civic leaders say Shrewsbury will rise from the ashes of the massive explosion which left 12 people in hospital and caused panic and devastation in the town centre.
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These exclusive pictures were taken by Chronicle reader Anthony Finnegan just moments after the blast ripped through the building on the corner of Bridge Street and Smithfield Road.
Mr Finnegan was about to leave Montgomery’s Tower after enjoying a Sunday morning coffee, when he caught on camera the drama as it unfolded.
Emergency services, business people and residents have been praised for their quick response to the explosion.
Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, said:“The explosion has left a gaping hole in the town centre. It is an important site and we need to look carefully about how it is redeveloped.”
Windows were smashed in nearby buildings, debris was scattered over the streets, electricity and telephone services were cut off and traffic was gridlocked.
Simon Airey, president of Shrewsbury Business Chamber, said he hoped roads would re-open as soon as possible and traders allowed to go back to their premises in Mardol, Hills Lane and Bridge Street.
Mr Airey said: “This part of Shrewsbury is like a ghost town. It’s very sad news for traders because they had quite a good Christmas, only to suffer this huge financial blow for the new year.”
The Health and Safety Executive investigation into the cause of the explosion is continuing, with attention focused on gas supplies.
A spokeswoman for the Ironcraft shop in Frankwell Damage said: “The blast was really loud and I heard it happen and it has shattered our front window. I don’t know the value of the damage, but we felt it shake the building.”
Superintendent Martin Whitelegg from West Mercia Police praised the efforts of Detective Sergeant Mark Hill, who was among the first police officers on the scene along with other town centre officers.
Mr Whitelegg said: “Mark was very close to the scene of this explosion when it went off. Certainly I know that Mark helped out considerably. Mark helped out in the car park outside the Shrewsbury Hotel. He was in the town centre making inquiries at the time and was nearby. There were other town centre officers there as well.”
“Police, fire and ambulance were there within a matter of a very few minutes of this incident happening. We all worked together to make sure the response to the incident was not only appropriate but all of the agencies were determined to make sure we saved lives and dealt with the incident in the most appropriate way,” Mr Whitelegg added.
The Right Reverend Mark Rylands, the Anglican Bishop of Shrewsbury, praised the county’s emergency services following the explosion in the town centre. He added: “My thoughts and prayers are with those who have been hurt.”
More than 100 emergency services personnel were on scene to deal with the aftermath of the explosion in Shrewsbury at the height of the incident.
Police, ambulance and fire service bosses sent a mass of appliances and manpower to the town.
Searches were carried out of the collapsed building, people rescued and firefighters tackled a blaze at the site.
Paramedics and doctors worked to help people injured in the incident while a special control centre was set up to oversee the operation and roads were cordoned off to keep people away from the site.
Andy Johnson, area manager with Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said nine pumping appliances were sent to the scene in addition to the aerial ladder platform and a rescue tender. Four or five officers were on scene at any one time and at its peak about 60 personnel in total were in the town.
Steve Wheaton, regional head of specialist operations with West Midlands Ambulance Service, said it had also sent a large number of personnel to the scene. At the height of the incident eight ambulances, five Rapid Response Vehicles, two air ambulances, a hazardous area response team, two doctors and seven officers were also sent to the scene.
Peter Nutting, a town and unitary councillor, described the incident as a “great shock”.
He said: “Obviously the explosion has been a great shock to everyone. I’m sure the town will pull together and get back to normal as soon as possible. Our thoughts go out to the injured. It’s really the injured that we must think about first and then getting the town back to normal afterwards.”
Shrewsbury’s Sixth Form College was forced to close for structural checks to be carried out. Panes of glass were broken at the college in Priory Road, following the explosion.
Tim Phillips, of Ditherington, and Ollie Parry, owner of the Salopian Bar in Smithfield Road, were among the first people on the scene. The pair rushed to help the casualties by removing rubble and debris from the collapsed building.
The men, along with several other passers-by, said they also helped lift a 4ft by 5ft slab which had fallen on a man who was going towards his vehicle in the car park of the Shrewsbury Hotel next door.
“I would say the flames were about 10ft to 12ft,” he added. “I heard a bang and the building shook and I just sprinted down there.”
Daniel Kawczynski added: “I feel I must thank the emergency services and staff at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for their rapid and extraordinary response because without them the aftermath of this explosion could have been a lot worse.”
