Investigation launched after fire damages Exeter City stadium | OneFootball

Fire services have launched an investigation into the cause of a blaze which caused damage to Exeter City’s stadium overnight.

Firefighters were called into action a little after 10pm on Wednesday to tackle a blaze which erupted at St James Park, with the flames extinguished by midnight and ventilation fans used to clear huge plumes of smoke.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said the fire started in an electrical unit in the stadium before spreading to a portacabin nearby. More than 60 per cent of the portacabin was damaged, with electrical cupboards and electrical intake also affected.

Initially three crews were sent to the scene, with another two mobilised as the fire “was threatening to spread to one of the stands”.

Exeter City said a “small area of the stadium was damaged”. No injuries were reported.

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(Getty Images)

A club statement on Thursday morning read: “The fire is understood to have broken out in the St James Road and Well Street corner of the stadium and caused damage to the temporary building which houses the stadium’s control room.

“We will be assessing the damage today and will update when we have more information.

“Thank you to the members of the public who reported the incident and for the fast response of the fire crews who brought the fire under control preventing further damage.”

Fire crews remained the scene of the incident through the early hours of Thursday morning.

St James Park has been the League One side’s home since its construction in 1904. A £3.4m redevelopment project was completed in 2018, which saw the replacement of the old Stagecoach stand with a new, 1,600-seater stand, named in honour of former striker Adam Stansfield.

It is the second outbreak of fire at the stadium in nine years. In 2016 Exeter’s League Two game against Carlisle United was delayed by more than an hour after smoke grenade was set off, with one stand evacuated due to smoke billowing from the back.