Summary

  1. Our live coverage has now endedpublished at 14:28 BST

    Thank you for following our live reporting. Our coverage has now ended.

    You can read more about what happened here.

  2. Recap after firefighters tackle major blazepublished at 14:22 BST

    Crews were called to a large fire above Escobar, in Market Street, at about 22:00 on Monday.

    Nottinghamshire Police and East Midlands Ambulance Service also attended.

    At the height of the blaze, 12 fire engines were at the scene with about 70 firefighters working to bring the fire under control.

    A number of residents were evacuated and multiple roads surrounding the scene were closed overnight and into Tuesday morning. The fire service said no injuries had been reported.

    Following a structural inspection on Tuesday, station manager Richard Booth said the fire had caused significant damage to the roof of the building, leaving it at risk of "internal collapse".

    He added that buildings surrounding the one affected by the fire had also been checked and were being handed back to businesses, which had been unable to open on Tuesday morning.

    An investigation into the cause is ongoing while firefighters are expected to return to check the building for any hotspots later today.

    Police have arrested two boys, 12 and 14, on suspicion of arson. Both boys remain in police custody.

    A cordon around Market Street has been reduced, and Booth said he hoped tram and bus services would return to normal soon.

  3. Building at risk of collapse - station managerpublished at 14:02 BST

    Station manager Richard Booth has told the BBC the building affected was "not safe to go into".

    He said: "It's not in danger of collapsing externally, but internally there is no roof.

    "A lot of the roof trusses are quite highly fire damaged so there's potential for internal collapse within that building above Escobar."

    Fire Station manager Richard Booth

    However, he added the buildings around the one affected by the fire had been checked and were being "handed back" to businesses.

    Booth said the cordon in Market Street had been reduced and hoped the road would soon be open for tram and bus service to operate.

    A fire investigation into the cause is ongoing while firefighters are due to return to the scene later today to check for any hotspots, the fire service said.

  4. Major city centre fire in picturespublished at 13:43 BST

    These images show the scale of the fire in Market Street last night and the aftermath as firefighters worked to get the blaze under control.

    Fire in Market Street, NottinghamImage source, Faye Stacey
    Firefighters tackling a major fire in Nottingham city centre. One firefighter is using a hose which is pointing up towards a building.Image source, Ian Wikberg
    Firefighters look up at a fire-damaged building in Nottingham city centre.
    Firefighters use an aerial ladder to reach the roof of a fire-damaged building in market Street in Nottingham.
    A firefighter on an aerial ladder platform which is elevated in front of a Victorian building which has been significantly damaged by fire.
  5. Restaurant unable to open todaypublished at 13:20 BST

    In a Facebook post earlier this morning, a restaurant within the cordon said it had hoped to be able to open this afternoon.

    However, in an update, Josephine's posted to say it had been "been advised we are unable to open today".

    The Upper Parliament Street business said: "Specialist equipment is being used to assess the nearby affected buildings which means it's impossible for us to open. This is just a precaution because they are old, but beautiful buildings."

    It added: "Provided there are no major unseen issues we are hoping to be able to open tomorrow.

    "Once again, thank you to our fire service for being prepared to put themselves in danger. This could have been far, far worse."

  6. What is Escobar?published at 13:03 BST

    Two firefighters looking up at the fire-damaged Escobar building

    Last night's blaze was above Escobar - a tapas restaurant and cocktail bar in Nottingham.

    The fire service has said there is "quite significant damage" to the Grade II listed building and the fire spread to the roof, but it has not been confirmed if the ground floor of the property has been damaged.

    Firefighters are waiting for a structural engineer to assess the building.

    Fire crews and police officers remain at the scene, and Escobar is still cordoned off.

    We do not know how long the cordon is likely to be in place for, or the impact of the fire on Escobar. We have attempted to contact Escobar for comment.

    Fire-damaged building in Market Street Nottingham
  7. Tram and bus services still affectedpublished at 12:50 BST

    Diversions are still in place for some bus services travelling through the city centre, according to operator Nottingham City Transport.

    A number of buses are missing stops and passengers are being warned that "severe delays" are expected if the roads remain closed.

    Meanwhile, Nottingham Express Transit is still not running tram services between the Nottingham Station and The Forest stops.

    "A limited number of trams are running between Nottingham Station and Toton Lane/Clifton South," the operator said.

    "Please allow extra time for your journey."

  8. Nearby business owner 'really worried'published at 12:36 BST

    Restaurant owner Erlint Tsalai said he was waiting for an update from police after his business, The Souvlaki, was cordoned off.

    He said he was alerted to the fire, two doors from his property, by his landlord.

    "When I looked at the news, I saw the pictures and everything. I was really worried and I came here as soon as possible," Tsalai added.

    "I hope everything is fine for anyone who was here last night."

    Erlint Tsalai

    The front door of Tsalai's restaurant had to be smashed so firefighters could check the building and ensure nobody was inside.

    He added he was worried about the cost of losing a day's business and of replacing the door.

  9. What have we learned about the Nottingham fire so far?published at 12:16 BST

    Firefighters were called to the blaze, above Escobar in Market Street, shortly after 22:00 on Monday night.

    Paramedics from East Midlands Ambulance Service and officers from Nottinghamshire Police also attended the scene.

    Officers shut a number of roads surrounding the scene while firefighters tackled the blaze.

    By 22:55, there were 12 fire engines at the scene.

    One lane on each of the affected roads has since reopened, but trams are still unable to run through the city centre. Bus services are also disrupted.

    Richard Leighton, fire commander at the scene, earlier urged people to "avoid the area at all costs".

    A joint police and fire investigation into the cause of the blaze is under way. A structural engineer is set to assess the building.

    Two boys, 12 and 14, have been arrested on suspicion of arson and remain in police custody.

  10. 'Quite significant damage' to the buildingpublished at 12:03 BST

    Pictures from the scene earlier this morning showed damage to the floors above Escobar.

    Incident commander Richard Booth has since said there is "quite significant damage" to the building.

    He added: "We are currently waiting for a structural engineer. Hopefully [they] will be able to assess the building.

    "At the moment we're not sending any firefighters in, it's a bit too risky."

    He also confirmed that everyone inside the building was evacuated on Monday night.

    A fire damaged building
  11. About 70 firefighters sent to blazepublished at 11:49 BST

    Incident commander Richard Booth said "60 or 70" firefighters were at the scene at the height of the blaze last night.

    While "most of the fire is out", Booth added, firefighters remain on the roof of the building, damping down smaller pockets of fire.

    Firefighters on an aerial ladder leading up the roof of the Escobar building in Nottingham
  12. 'Early stages of the investigation'published at 11:26 BST

    In a statement announcing the arrests, Nottinghamshire Police said it was supporting the fire service while an investigation to determine the cause of the fire was under way.

    City commander Supt Chris Pearson said: "This incident caused large-scale disruption to Nottingham city centre last night, but luckily no-one was seriously injured. This is testament to the combined work of all emergency services coming together to protect the public from harm.

    "While we are in the early stages of the investigation to determine how the fire was caused, we have arrested two boys on suspicion of arson and criminal damage.

    "These arrests were made very quickly after we were called to the incident."

  13. Boys, 12 and 14, arrested on suspicion of arsonpublished at 11:21 BST
    Breaking

    Two boys have been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the fire, Nottinghamshire Police has just confirmed.

    The boys, 12 and 14, remain in police custody.

  14. 'Air full of smoke and red'published at 11:01 BST

    David Pittam
    Nottingham

    Ian Wikberg and India Morrell found themselves caught up in the chaos after leaving a concert at Rock City on Monday.

    "We came out at about 22:30, when the doors closed, and we walked down the road and it was all quite active with fire, ambulance and police, and building was well alight," Wikberg said.

    The 43-year-old said there were "pockets of people" standing around in slippers and dressing gowns after being evacuated from the building.

    "[There was] a lot of people, a lot of cordons, all the roads blocked, the air was full of smoke and red," he said.

    India Morrell and Ian Wikberg

    "It was scary really - I've never seen anything like it before," Morrell added.

    "The first think you think is you hope everyone's out and you hope everyone's OK."

    When the pair first saw the fire, the flames were "probably five metres above the building".

    "You could see the redness and there was smoke everywhere," Morell said.

  15. Tram services stopped in city centrepublished at 10:25 BST

    Nottingham's tram operator has paused services in the city centre.

    No services are running between Nottingham railway station and the Forest stop.

    Trams stopped in Nottingham city centre

    That means services are not stopping at the Lace Market, Old Market Square, Royal Centre, Nottingham Trent University and High School stops.

  16. Businesses inside the cordonpublished at 10:11 BST

    A number of businesses are located within the cordon.

    Those affected are Market Street Dental Care, restaurants Josephine's and The Souvlaki, the Revolucion de Cuba bar and a Candyzone shop.

    Josephine's tea lounge in Nottingham inside a police and fire cordon

    An automated voicemail message from the dental practice said it was closed due to the fire.

    In a Facebook post, Josephine's said that, although it was not directly affected by the fire, staff were unable to access the restaurant.

    The post states: "We're planning on trying to get access at around midday with the aim of reopening in the afternoon if allowed.

    "Our building is not affected by the fire as far as we know."

  17. Firefighters taking a closer lookpublished at 09:55 BST

    The aerial ladder platform is up and firefighters are now taking a closer look at the building.

    Fire engine parked outside Escobar

    Firefighters will be checking the structural integrity of the building today and carrying out an investigation into the cause of the blaze.

    A firefighter in a cherry picker close to the building damage
  18. Ladder about to go uppublished at 09:37 BST

    Firefighters are preparing an aerial ladder platform so, as Richard Leighton told us earlier, they can get a "birds-eye view" of the damage.

    A fire engine with a ladder on top of it
  19. Managing traffic in the city centrepublished at 09:26 BST

    Nottingham's transport firms and police are helping to manage traffic in the city centre while restrictions remain in place on multiple roads.

    Traffic officers helping to guide the traffic in the city centre in Nottingham

    Representatives from Nottingham Express Transit and Nottingham City Transport are helping to guide the traffic through the city this morning.

    Tram and bus services remain disrupted by the ongoing emergency service response.

  20. Fire investigation to beginpublished at 09:12 BST

    Richard Leighton, the incident commander for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, said an aerial ladder platform was being set up to help firefighters get a "birds-eye view" of the damage.

    Leighton said when crews first arrived, the fire "looked like it started from the roof".

    An investigation later today will look into the cause of fire, he added.

    In the meantime, the public is being urged to stay away from the scene.

    Richard Leighton in high-vis clothing