INQUIRIES have begun into a major fire at a Four Marks garage which saw the evacuation on Tuesday night of 60 local residents and caused extensive damage to the premises.

Police are treating as suspicious the incident which was expected to result in the 36-hour closure of the main A31. Emergency services battled first to extinguish the flames and then to stabilise oxyacetylene gas cylinders, one at least of which had exploded causing fears for the safety of surrounding households.

More than 2,000 tyres are said to have burned in the inferno, resulting in a pall of black smoke hanging over the Charters Peugeot Garage which, eye witnesses say, could be seen from as far afield as Winchester.

According to Hampshire Fire and Rescue spokesman Mike Gates, the first call-out (one of more than 20 calls) came at approximately 7-15 pm and crews were dispatched immediately to the Chawton End premises where the blaze had already taken hold.

It appears the fire had started in the ExpressFit workshop, at the Boyneswood Road end of the site and firefighters fought hard to contain it.

At the height of the blaze there were 10 appliances and 80 firefighters in attendance, having rushed there from as far afield as Alton, Alresford, Rushmoor, Eastleigh, Basingstoke and Winchester.

Their first job was to surround the premises with water using hoses clamped into position by ground monitors and an aerial ladder platform to spray from above.

According to Mr Gates, it was too risky for firefighters to work, as they would normally do, from the outside into the middle of the fire. Not only was there a strong wind fanning the flames but the workshop was known to be full of oil and fuel together with gas cylinders containing argon, oxygen and the particularly volatile oxyacetylene. This was a factor brought home with a bang at around 8-15 pm when a gas cylinder exploded. Fortunately, although by that time the roof of the building had gone, the walls were still standing and helped to contain the impact, said Mr Gates.

Because of the threat of explosion, police had cordoned off the area, closed the road and, in conjunction with the local authorities, had put in place a civil emergency plan to evacuate neighbouring residents.

In all 60 people were asked to vacate their homes. While the majority were able to find accommodation with friends and family, the remaining 17 either drove or were driven by coach to a collection point at Alton Sports Centre. East Hampshire District Council later found them bed and breakfast at the Grange Hotel in Alton and Jingles at Emsworth.

ÒThe procedure worked very well - the people were evacuated safely and quickly,Ó said Mr Gates.

While the fire was brought fairly quickly under control, the main concerns centred on the oxyacetylene cylinders which, explained Mr Gates, had to be cooled down and stabilised gradually by spraying with water, which can take as long as 24 hours.

This process was extended when more cylinders were discovered in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Firefighters were npt expected to be able to touch them until at least 5 am yesterday (Thursday)

As a precaution, the A31 remained closed and local residents were not expecting to be allowed back into their homes until Thursday morning, nor were garage employees allowed back on site until the all clear was given.

The A31 remained sealed off for the duration, from Lymington Bottom to the Telegraph Lane turning, and police diversions were in operation.

In expressing thanks to the emergency services for their part in dealing with the incident, Charters Group operations director, David Manchester, sought to assure customers that the Chawton End garage would be up and running again by Monday, June 16.

The fire service, he said, had done Òa tremendous jobÓ in retaining the fire which had gutted the ExpressFit tyre, exhaust and battery workshop and destroyed three customersÕ cars.

It had not, however, damaged the car sales, main service and parts or body workshop which would be fully operational by Monday.

ÒWe have contacted those customers who will be affected by this temporary loss of service. Our staff have been tremendous, as have our other group dealerships who have been helping us out,Ó said Mr Manchester. He also expressed particular thanks to the police and apologised to those local residents who had been forced to move out and to those who would incur loss of business as a result of the road closure.

No one is thought to have been hurt in the incident.