FIRE crews from Wellington, Williton, Wiveliscombe, and Nether Stowey were called out to a major blaze which extensively damaged two three-storey buildings in the county town of Taunton early today.

They were among 10 fire stations from across Somerset which sent firefighters to tackle the blaze, which broke out shortly before 5.30 am.

The fire was seated in the kitchen area of the Bare Grills Smokehouse, in Bridge Street, and spread next door to the Bridge Street Dental Centre.

The massive firefighting operation continued into the afternoon as town centre roads were closed and congestion built up as drivers tried to find alternative routes.

The nearby North Town Primary School sent urgent text messages to tell parents of its 500 pupils and nursery children to keep them at home because it would be closed, just 24 hours after teachers had staged a one-day strike.

However, the school was able to re-open later in the day.

The first firefighters on the scene were met with smoke and flames coming out of the rear of the buildings and they needed two aerial ladder platforms and used six sets of breathing apparatus to help bring the blaze under control.

Although nobody was hurt in the incident, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust sent a double-crewed land ambulance, an operations officer, and a hazardous area response team.

By lunchtime the incident had effectively been dealt with and only one fire crew remained on site while checks were carried out for any hotspots with the help of a thermal imaging camera.

A fire brigade spokesman said: “The restaurant suffered 25 per cent fire damage and 50 per cent smoke damage.

“The property next door had 100 per cent smoke damage 20 per cent fire damage, and 30 per cent water damage.”