An explosion at a fire in Bedlington was caught on camera from almost six miles away.
A shed blaze broke out on Pioneer Terrace in the Bedlington Station area on Saturday night, with firefighters evacuating nearby streets over fears gas cylinders could explode.
A loud explosion was heard by families and the moment was caught on CCTV six miles away in Seaton Delaval, with a bright red flash filling the skyline.
Donna Audsley, 33, who provided lifts to residents evacuated from their homes to the nearby by rest centre, arrived at the scene before the explosion.
She said: “We went up and got there about 10 minutes before the explosion. It was that big I threw the car into reverse to move back.
"You could feel it and then they had evacuated a lot of the street along that row and there were a lot of elderly, vulnerable people."
Homes on Pioneer Terrace, Station Road, Waverley Avenue, Wallington Close and Brambling Lee were evacuated after the fire broke out at around 11.30pm.
As the sheds contained acetylene canisters and other cylinders it was considered an explosive risk.
Supported by Northumbria Police, the North East Ambulance Service and staff from Northumberland County Council, fire crews had to temporarily evacuate local residents to a rest centre at Contract Gym on Station Road.
Three crews from Pegswood and two crews from West Hartford attended using breathing apparatus, jets and ground monitors to bring the situation under control.
Crews were able to cool the cylinders and make the area safe by the early hours of Sunday and families were able to return home.
The fire investigation team remained on site into the early hours to conduct their investigations and further investigations with Northumbria Police were expected to be completed on Sunday.
