Port Erin Dental Practice out of action after fire

All appointments at Port Erin Dental Practice are cancelled until further notice following a fire at the premises on Sunday evening (7 July).

The Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service responded to the call shortly after 1am this morning (8 July).

Crews from Rushen, Castletown and Douglas were mobilised to reports of the fire at a property in Orchard Road, Port Erin.

On arrival, everyone was already out of the property, but 'flames were coming out of the windows of the ground floor and cylinders were exploding'.

Breathing Apparatus Teams were deployed (6 teams in total) to control and extinguish the fire within the ground floor, and to check for fire spread in the other properties within the building.

Crews then further checked the building with radiation dosimeters, gas detection and thermal image cameras, then used a positive pressure ventilation fan to clear the property of the smoke.

They were in attendance for approximately 4 hours.

The call to the emergency services was made by an occupier who was alerted to the incident due to the smoke detector being activated.

As a result of the incident, Manx Care has confirmed all appointments at Port Erin Dental Practice will be cancelled 'for the foreseeable future'.

In a statement, the healthcare service said: "The practice are working closely with Manx Care and will keep patients updated accordingly.

"The practice will be in touch with their patients in due course with regards to their future appointments.

"Patients who require an emergency appointment for pain, bleeding or swelling should contact The Square Dental Practice on 621440."

The Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service added: "This incident highlights the importance of working smoke alarms, when there is a fire, smoke spreads fast.

"Working smoke alarms save lives, they give early warning in the case of fire which can enable occupants to get out of the property in the early stages of a fire, which in turn allows us to get to you more quickly."