Stadium Alight - Fire at SoL

Tyne & Wear Fire & Rescue have confirmed that a fault with electrical bar equipment was the cause of a fire which severely damaged the Directors' Suite on the third floor at the Stadium of Light.

The alarm was raised at 6.11am today and the first crews arrived only four minutes later. Eleven fire crews attended in total, from Sunderland Central, Fulwell, North Moor Road and Newcastle Central Community Fire Station. Five other fire appliances from Newcastle, South Shields and Sunderland attended to support the crews.

Water and smoke damage has also affected the area on the floor below the Directors' Suite but the fire doors were said to have helped contain the fire, and the rest of the stadium is otherwise unaffected.

The Stadium has seen several blazes since it was built including two electrical fires in the floodlight control room and various smaller "burger bar" fires.

The club has confirmed that the match on Friday will go ahead as planned.