First Incident

Time of call 07.31 hours - reports of fire and smoke at Cauldwell Walk industrial area off Kempston Road, Bedford, next to road-over-railway bridge.

Fire in scrapyard causing much smoke - train lines either side of yard (London and Bletchley) closed and overhead power lines switched off for short period.

A Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service (BLFRS) HazMats (hazardous materials) Fire Officer used the  Aerial platform to gain overview of incident and decided that no danger to public from smoke so no need for evacuations.

Firefighting continued and blaze quickly put out - but crews remaining on scene "damping down" using jets of water until it was clear there were no hotspots remaining causing a danger of re-ignition.

An electrical sub-station on the site was deemed to be in no danger as no longer active. No cylinders, such as acetylene, were involved in actual fire - these can pose a considerable hazard if heated and in those circumstances could require the site to be cordoned off.

The pile of cars involved in fires were layered three deep and the site owners were considering using a crane to separate the stack.

Crews still at scene 11am Sunday morning "damping down".  A final inspection is expected to be held later.

Second Incident

Time of call 07.33 hours - to "smell of gas" at BP garage in Newnham Avenue, Bedford. Crews attended together with representatives from gas authority, Transco. Garage closed whilst investigations carried out. No leak found. Fire crews left scene and garage reopened.

10.33 a second call to Fire about continuing smell - crews attended again, garage closed again, and after investigation it was established that smell may be caused by wiring at property. BP maintenance to deal with situation. Fire crews leave scene again.

"There was no fire and Transco said the site was free of gas so there was nothing more we could do. This is a very busy garage and the closure will doubtless have caused much attention," said a spokesperson for BLFRS.