A MAN who was rescued from an early morning town centre fire in Darlington earlier this year is still suffering from the effects of his injures, police have confirmed, after they closed the investigation into the blaze.

A fire broke out in the roof of the former St T’s Home Shop on Skinnergate in Darlington in May.

 

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said a 47-year-old man was rescued from the blaze by firefighters "in the nick of time" as the building was collapsing around them, and a boiler fell through the ground floor ceiling.

He was later arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

 

However, police have now confirmed the man has been released, as due to the evidence available, there was no realistic prospect of conviction.

Witnesses gathered to see firefighters tackling the blaze, which started at around 4am, and they reported hearing glass shattering and the roof of the building coming down, as well as thick black smoke blowing across the town.

Temporary accommodation was also arranged for four people and a dog who were evacuated from nearby properties.

 

Detective Constable Liam Robertson, from Darlington CID, said: “Following an extensive investigation, the 47-year-old man who arrested on suspicion of arson has been released with no further action as, due to the evidence available, there was no realistic prospect of conviction.

“At the time of the incident, the man was rescued from the blaze and taken to hospital with serious leg injuries.

“Although he has since been released from hospital, nearly six months on from the fire he is still suffering from the effects of his injuries.”

 

Lee Aspery, fire investigation manager, said: “The building interior collapsed when a substantial boiler fell from the first floor through to the ground floor - the damage to the interior structure was significant. We thereafter acted on the advice given by building control that the building was unsafe and any work we did inside the building risked structural collapse.

“The investigation was police-led, however very little could be done in the area of the fire without risking investigators’ lives to assist our examination of the scene.”

 

The affected area of Skinnergate was closed for almost a week after the fire, and a knock-on effect power cut affected properties in the DL3 postcode area of Darlington.

Earlier this week, charity Age UK revealed it had lost seven months of donations as a result of the fire.

Antony Mitton, store manager for the Cockerton branch, said:“We lost a lot of stock that we were saving for our Christmas event.

“Nobody has been allowed back in that building so we don’t actually know how much of it we lost but we will push forward and we still have got quite a bit to get out on the day."