A TEAM OF Longford firefighters had a lucky escape when an explosive ball of flame engulfed them as they fought a blaze.

The fire in the Esquire Coffee shop at the Axis Centre in Longford town happened yesterday afternoon. 

The business, which employs 20 people, suffered severe damage but it was a video circulating on social media that showed the moment when a group of fire service personnel came close to disaster. 

As they approached a door to begin fighting the blaze from inside the structure a massive explosion of fire rushed out – engulfing the Fire Brigade personnel. 

It is understood that their fire fighting equipment saved them from serious injury in what sources said was a “flashover” incident.

A flashover happens when superheated gases inside a burning building reach a critical temperature and instantly ignite causing an explosion of flame.   

The owners of the coffee shop released a statement on the Facebook page and thanked the emergency services.

“Like the community of Longford, we are so devastated by the fire that engulfed the Esquires Coffee house on Monday afternoon. We are proud of our staff’s quick reaction to the blaze and, as a result, thankfully no one was injured.

“The staff at Esquires Longford are utterly heartbroken at the loss of their beloved store – a feeling we share with them deeply.

“Finally, we would like to thank you for the offers of support we have received in the last couple of days; it means so much to us all. The store will be closed for now and we will update here as soon as possible when we have an opening date.

“We now start the process of rebuilding Longford’s favourite café and hope to be serving you in the near future”.

Local Councillor Gerry Hagan said he believes the blaze started in the kitchen area and rapidly took hold.

“It got out of control very fast. It was dealt with by the Fire Brigade in a very admirably brave and courageous way but I would also commend the staff and the manager for getting the restaurant cleared. This definitely helped to ensure there were no casualties.

“It was a very shocking incident. It was a very popular coffee house and restaurant. People would call in there from the bypass passing Longford.

“There was no one injured and that is the main thing – you can replace a building but not a person,” he said. 

A garda spokesperson said: “Gardaí and emergency services attended an incident of a fire in a retail premises on the Battery Road in Longford Town, Co Longford at approximately 2:45pm yesterday.

“No injuries were reported and no offences were disclosed.”