Suspected arson attack at former bus depot – fire service statement

The depot was once the home of Bristol Omnibus and Kingswood Coaches

Firefighters were called to a suspected arson attack at a former bus depot in Kingswood on Saturday night. The blaze took place at The Old Bus Depot off Moravian Road on Saturday (November 5) at around 8pm.

The depot was once used by Bristol Omnibus and Kingswood Coaches, which moved to the site in 1955 and turned it into a busy station with petrol pumps, offices and waiting rooms for its 24 coaches.

However, in recent times the site has been in decline and is currently home to a number of businesses, including a housing firm called Douglas Homes and a stairs company called Stairs2U. Royal Mail also use part of the site for its delivery vehicles.

On Saturday night, Avon Fire and Rescue Service said a crew from Kingswood attended a fire at the depot, finding a single-storey wooden outbuilding well alight. Today (November 7), the service said the cause of the fire was thought to be deliberate.

A statement from the service read: “Crews from Kingswood were called at 20:00 [5 November 2022] to reports of a fire on Moravian Road, Kingswood. On arrival, crews found a single storey wooden out building alight.

“Firefighters used two high pressure hose reels, hydraulic spreaders and thermal imaging cameras to extinguish the blaze. The cause of the fire is thought to be deliberate.”

The fire is not far from Douglas Road, where a new piece of artwork appeared over the weekend. You can read about that by clicking here.