Nottinghamshire County Council HQ fire was caused by electrical fault

A blaze which spread across four floors of a council headquarters was caused by an accidental electrical failure, a fire service has confirmed.

A total of 12 fire crews tackled the blaze at the Nottinghamshire County Council building on Thursday, which initially started on the first floor.

A lighting fixture and nearby wiring in a ceiling void overheated, Nottinghamshire Fire Service said.

Nobody was injured, but the building suffered fire, smoke and water damage.

The blaze started within the corridors of offices used by the Conservative group on the first floor of County Hall, in West Bridgford, before spreading to the second, third and fourth floors.

Staff were evacuated just before noon on 28 July when the fire alarm sounded.

Fire service watch manager Tim Marston said: "The fire has been attributed to an accidental electrical cause, leading to the overheating of a lighting fixture and adjacent wiring within the ceiling void on the first floor of the building.

"The fact that the affected floor had well-fitting automatic fire doors that functioned correctly is a testimony as to why the most severe fire and radiated heat damage was contained to one area, leaving adjacent stairwells clear to aid evacuation."

Twelve fire engines plus two aerial platforms attended with Nottinghamshire crews supported by those from Derbyshire and Leicestershire

Neil Clarke, cabinet member for transport and environment, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the fire had started in his office.

"We were in meetings in another part of the building and then the fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate," he said.

"It is [my office] pretty much burnt out. It's genuinely difficult to be able to describe.

"I've lost quite a lot of personal stuff, computers and files, and there's smoke damage to some of the other offices to varying degrees across the corridor."

Councillor Neil Clarke said his County Hall office was "pretty much burnt out"

The headquarters building houses the council's meeting chamber alongside services and support offices.

Although the building has been handed back to the council from the emergency services, it remains closed.

Staff have been told to continue to work from home or from other buildings while the site is cleaned up.

The fire service said the "most severe fire and radiated heat damage" was contained to one area of the building

Council leader Ben Bradley MP said the Conservative group would now need to find a new base for their offices while repair works took place.

He said he believed councillors would not be allowed back for "quite some time".

Derek Higton, service director for place and communities at the council, added: "Since the fire was extinguished, we have worked well to ensure any disruption to our services has been minimal and I can confirm our services are now fully operational."