A fire tore through a dental practice in the south of the island during the early hours.

The alarm was raised just after 1am this morning by one of the ‘occupants’ of the Port Erin Dental Practice on the village’s Orchard Road after smoke triggered alarms on the site.

A spokesperson for the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service said flames were seen ‘coming out of the windows’ of the property while gas cylinders could be heard exploding inside the practice.

Firefighters spent around four hours at the scene attempting to bring the blaze under control.

A spokesperson for the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service said: ‘Shortly after 1am this morning crews from Rushen, Castletown and Douglas were mobilised to reports of a confirmed fire at a property in Orchard Road, Port Erin. 

‘On arrival flames were coming out of the windows of the ground floor and [gas] cylinders were exploding, all persons were out of the property.

‘Breathing Apparatus Teams were deployed (6 teams in total) to control and extinguish the fire within the ground floor, and to check for fire spread in the other properties within the building.

‘Crews further checked the building with Radiation dosimeters, Gas detection and Thermal image cameras, then used Positive Pressure Ventilation Fan to clear the property of the smoke and were in attendance for approximately four hours.’

The dental practice, which is run by Manx Care, will now be shut for the foreseeable future as a result of the blaze.

A spokesperson for Manc Care said: ‘All appointments at Port Erin Dental Practice will be cancelled for the foreseeable future due to a fire at the premises on Sunday evening.

‘The practice are working closely with Manx Care and will keep patients updated accordingly.

‘The practice will be in touch with their patients in due course with regards to their future appointments.

‘Patients who require an emergency appointment for pain, bleeding or swelling should contact The Square Dental Practice on 621440.’

According to the fire service, the consequences of the blaze could have been much worse were it not for the smoke alarms inside the property which alerted staff at the practice to the incident.

‘This incident highlights the importance of working smoke alarms, when there is a fire, smoke spreads fast,’ added the spokesperson. 

‘Working smoke alarms save lives, they give early warning in the case of fire which can enable occupants to get out of the property in the early stages of a fire, which in turn allows us to get to you more quickly.’