A 200-metre cordon was put in place to keep people away from a garage which caught fire in a County Durham village.
The blaze, in the Green Acres area of Middleton-in-Teesdale, was reported at 12.23pm today (Thursday).
When officers from the village's retained station attended, they found the 15m by 20m garage was already well alight.
At its height, five appliances attended the scene.
A spokeswoman for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said the cordon had been put in place because acetylene and propane gas cylinders were involved in the incident.
The Green Acres area is away from the village centre, close to the Tees. A nearby caravan park was unaffected.
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