Aerial footage has revealed the scale of the inferno which destroyed a business and homes in West Boldon .
It took thirteen hours for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) to put out the terrifying blaze on Sunday night.
Witnesses reported seeing fireballs shooting into the air as gas cannisters combusted in the extreme temperatures.
Several houses and The Red Lion pub needed to be evacuated as the flames spread to nearby homes.
Emergency services used a drone equipped with a thermal image capture to tackle the complex fire.
With the site of the fire far too dangerous to enter, firefighters turned to technology to gain an upper hand.
At the height of the response, 42 firefighters from 10 different stations were at the scene.
Group manager Adrian Jackson said: “At this particular incident, the risk of exploding gas canisters meant that it wasn’t safe for firefighters to enter the building.
"However, by streaming footage from the drone’s thermal imaging camera to the incident command unit, we were able to identify where the fire was spreading.
"We could then concentrate our efforts on those areas to bring the fire under control from the outside.”
An investigation to determine the cause of the fire is ongoing.
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