A SOUTHAMPTON garage burst into flames as Shirley came to a standstill.

Around 40 firefighters raced to tackle the blaze in Lumsden Avenue as a tyre garage was engulfed shortly before 11am yesterday.

Six appliances from St Mary’s, Redbridge and Beaulieu attended the scene, with the group manager saying it was likely the building would have to be knocked down.

Roads were shut and buses diverted in Shirley as police, ambulances and firefighters battled to save the premises from the fire, which is being treated as accidental.

The fire service also warned residents of the risk of airborne asbestos from the blaze.

Group manager Brian Rudman said: “We had about 40 firefighters tackling the blaze. We were called to a small garage to a commercial fire and upon leaving, our crews could see smoke.

“No-one was inside the building, which has been 100 per cent affected by the fire. It’s unlikely the building could be repaired.

“Around six or seven vehicles have been damaged, and I would say it’s likely that they’ve been destroyed.”

When asked about the asbestos, the group manager said people didn’t need to panic.

He added: “When people hear the word ‘asbestos’, they tend to panic but I would say there’s no need to.

“Yes there is a possibility that it has escaped due to the older roof tiling, but there’s nothing to worry about.

“The fact that water has been piling on to the material means the effect of it would have been nullified.”

Neighbouring residents had to evacuate their homes as the fire spread.

Margaret Rahman, 64, lives behind the garage.

She said: “I saw all of these huge flames and the smoke pouring into the sky.

“I took a video of it; the fire was so big. I told my husband to hurry up as we had to get out, but still he was getting dressed!

“Everything is okay now, but it was quite a hectic morning.”

The building owner, Zac House, also owns nearby Gas Works, with the store’s manager, Tess Pearman, the person to contact the fire service.

Tess said the flames were so close that she thought the fire was in their building.

She said: “I just looked up and saw a load of smoke from our back window.

“The first thing I did was call 999 and contacted Zac. Of course I’ve never seen anything like this before, and it’s not something you expect to see looking out your window.”

Zac said the future of the tyre business depended on whether the business owner had the correct insurance.

The name of the business is currently listed as Allensons Garage.

The emergency was over by 1.30pm, but Lumsden Avenue remained closed further into the afternoon, with police and fire crews saying it was too dangerous to enter the building.

Southampton bus service Bluestar and First Southampton had to divert their routes from Shirley High Street for three hours, with the road reopening around 1pm.

The fire service said that they believed the cause of the fire was accidental, but that this wasn’t yet confirmed.