People flee as blaze breaks out at Quality Tyres in Wembley

People have described their panic as they fled from a blaze at a car repair garage in Wembley, this morning.

Around 25 people were evacuated from their homes and workplaces and had to stand in the pouring rain in the High Road, as fire crews tackled the blaze at Quality Tyres in Thurlow Gardens, just after 11.30am.

Eight fire engines and 40 firefighters rushed to the scene after receiving the emergency call.

The blaze erupted after a mechanic was working on a van with oxyacetylene gas which exploded. The fire spread to the back of the shop and the van was left completely burnt out.

Garth Brown, who works at Gees Autos, next door to where the blaze broke out, says he heard a loud “bang” and rushed outside to see what the commotion was.

He said: “It was a piercing bang, so I immediately dialled 999 out of panic. The fire was getting bigger and bigger, but I knew there’s no fire extinguisher in the garage, so I made a run for it with my colleagues in case something exploded.”

Richie Esprit, who also works for Gees Autos, said it sounded like a “bomb had exploded”.

He said: “It was a pretty terrifying sound and not something you expect to hear during an average day at work. I looked up and saw thick black plumes of smoke engulfing the skies. I just ran away. I was pretty scared.”

Gopinath Dharmaling, a waiter at Sarashwathy Bavans, an Indian restaurant in High Road, said he heard the bang and then the scent of smoke filled the restaurant.

He said: “It was very unnerving, the sky was just filled with black clouds and I realised it was something serious when I saw how many fire crews came.

“I saw all the residents from the roads had been evacuated and some of the shops, but luckily everyone was safe and no-one from our restaurant had to be evacuated.”

By Anna Slater, Monday 23rd April 2012, 3:03pm