Exclusive: ‘I thought our building was on fire’: Eyewitness reacts to blaze at Aylesbury's Lynx Gym where her children made ‘amazing memories’
A worker at an Aylesbury office block said she initially believed their building was ablaze before realising it was the neighbouring Lynx Gym.
Eyewitness Helen works in an office at the Claydon House building opposite Lynx Gymnastics, which caught fire at around 9am on Thursday May 7.
She told The Bucks Herald her own children had ‘amazing memories’ of classes at the hugely popular Aylesbury gym.
Nine crews attended the blaze at the two-storey building on Rabans Close at the height of the fire earlier this morning, with black smoke seen in the skies over Aylesbury.
Helen, who was at the scene prior to the arrival of the emergency services, told the Herald: “I was just pulling into the car park when the fire started, it was about 9am.
“I didn't realise what was going on until the ladies from the office downstairs started running towards our building and looking through the windows in a panic.
“When I looked up I saw the smoke and thought the same as them, that our building was on fire, but after hearing and seeing other people running up to Lynx Gymnastics, I took a step back and realised it wasn't us, it was the gym.
“I decided to move my car from our car park to a safer distance, it was pretty scary!
“Two unmarked police cars turned up first from what I could see.
“We were told we were not to go back into our building until we had the all-clear.”
Helen said workers were allowed into the Claydon House building at 10.30am, as firefighters continued to tackle the incident.
Road closures remained in place on Rabans Close and Rabans Lane until around 12.30pm, with an emergency services presence remaining on scene after this time.
Reacting to the incident, Helen told us she was ‘devastated’ for everyone at the gym.
“I'm absolutely devastated for the Lynx gym and for all the children who enjoy their time there.
“My children loved it there when they were little and we have some amazing memories.
“I hope they can rebuild bigger and better!”
In a statement posted this afternoon, Lynx Gymnastics said they were ‘heartbroken’ by the incident writing: “Most importantly, we are incredibly thankful that no one was injured or hurt.
“Thankfully, there were no children or customers in the building at the time of the incident.
“We also want to express our sincere gratitude to our staff and the fire brigade, who acted as quickly as possible to keep everyone safe during an extremely difficult situation.
“At this early stage, we still do not know the full extent of the damage, but what we do know is that the impact is devastating.
“With immediate effect, the gym will be closed until further notice.
“Right now, our priority is the safety and wellbeing of our members, staff, and community.
“We will be working closely with the relevant authorities and assessing the situation over the coming days.
“At present, we anticipate that this will be a lengthy process before we are able to return.
“We know this news will come as a huge shock to so many families. We ask for your patience while Lynx staff work through arrangements and next steps as carefully and quickly as possible.”
A post on Lynx Gymnastics Facebook page earlier this week indicated that maintenance work was due to take place at the gym on May 6 and 7.