Furniture and homewares retailer Dunelm has temporarily closed its store in Yeovil due to a fire.

The fire broke out on Sunday 25 August 2024 at the store located at the Quedam Shopping Centre and has resulted in significant roof and internal damage.

Avon and Somerset Police attended the scene in support of Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue, which included three pumping appliances from Yeovil, Sherborne and Martock crews as well as an Aerial ladder platform from Taunton.

Crews then made up for a further three pumping appliances before then making pumps eight for personnel. Crews from Crewkerne, Wincanton and Castle Cary also attended.

“On arrival crews confirmed the building was well alight,” said Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue in a statement. “Crews used the Aerial ladder platform, two Breathing Apparatus, one 13.5 meter ladder, two 51mm jets and one hose reel.

“The fire has been extinguished. The fire was in the roof space, which was 30% damaged by fire. All the contents of the building were damaged by smoke and water.

“Adjacent buildings were checked and no smoke or fire damage was detected. We will be working with the police to investigate the cause of the fire.”

Dunelm also shared a statement: “We wanted to let you all know that the colleagues in the store got out safely. It’s devastating to see this happen to the store. We have no updates currently to what will happen next but will let you all know when we do.

“Our thanks go to the Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service who were on site quickly and able to extinguish the fire in its entirety.

“Following significant damage to the store it will remain closed for the foreseeable future and further updates will be made in due course.

“As a top priority, we are now working closely with our colleagues who were affected by this incident to ensure they have the support they need, and all will be placed in alternative roles across the business while the store is closed.

“Whilst we are closed, we wanted to let you know that we still have stores in Taunton, Weymouth, Salisbury and Exeter for all your homeware needs.”

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has since said the most likely cause of the fire is that “it started accidentally outside the building, possibly from a discarded cigarette”.

Images from Sherborne Fire Service