FIREFIGHTERS in Runcorn swept a burning office building top to bottom after reports a homeless person may be living inside.

Fire engines from Runcorn, Widnes, Penketh, and Stockton Heath, rushed to Crown Gate in the Hallwood Park commercial area at 8.20pm on Saturday, November 25.

When they arrived, fire crews found a ‘significant’ fire on the ground floor of a commercial building which used to house offices.

They did a full sweep of the building wearing oxygen masks, including the basement and upper floors, but no one was found.

Three hose teams spent around two hours and 30 minutes tackling the fire, which centred on a pile of burning rubbish about 16 metres square, and used fans to disperse the smoke.

A spokesman for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Crews were deployed following a report of a significant fire on the ground floor of the former officer building.

“Wearing breathing apparatus, they used a covering jet and two hose reel water jets to put out a fire involving a pile of waste measuring approximately 16 square metres.

“A comprehensive search of the basement and heavily smoke-logged upper floors was carried out, following reports there may have been someone sleeping rough in the building.

“No one was found.

“Large specialist fans were used to clear smoke while crews damped down for around two and a half hours.”