Fire on Holton Road, Barry above the old Burtons store

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service sent six fire engines to tackle the blaze which occurred in the property above the old Burtons store near King Square end of the high street.

Watch the video below as Barry and District was on the scene of the fire

The fire occurred on Holton Road above the old Burton store (Image: Newsquest)

One of the earliest to hear about the incident was local butchers Marshall Butchers, six doors down from the scene of the fire. Staff were setting up their regular 6am deliveries when they first heard about the incident.

One local butcher heard about the incident at 6am (Image: Newsquest)

Other shopkeepers coming to open their stores early on a murky Wednesday morning notified the fire service at around 7.30am about the blaze.

Holton Road was closed from Wyndham Street roundabout to Richard Street (Image: Newsquest)

Despite the early notifications, it wasn’t until 8am, South Wales Fire and Rescue informed the public about the incident, on X, formally Twitter, with a post saying: “Ongoing incident on Holton Road. Please avoid the area and keep windows and doors closed. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Firefighters also tackled the blaze from Merthyr Street (Image: Newsquest)

Windows above the old Burton store were blown out with black soot visible from the street, but there was no noticeable structural damage to the building.

One shopkeeper described how the 'close business community' of Holton Road banded together to help secure the area and warn residents about the on-going blaze.

• Recap: Take a look at our live blog at the time of the incident, clicking here

When asked about the smell with the window and doors warning, one shopkeeper described it as more peculiar than just a burning smell. Another justified this by saying there are a lot of pigeons in the abandoned building above Burtons…

Other shopkeepers were left in local coffee shops like Marcos patiently waiting for the road to reopen so business could continue.

Residents were advised to keep their windows and doors closed (Image: Ian Johnson)

Watch the video below of the scene at Holton Road this morning, May 8

There was a considerable South Wales Police presence on the scene with Holton Road closed off from Wyndham Street round-about down to Richard Street.

The road was closed for a number of hours, with confirmation of the area reopening at around 1pm.  

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service released a statement at just before 11am, saying: "SWFRS responded to a call to Holton Road, Barry this morning (8th May) at around 07.15 am.

"We have had six fire engines in attendance."