HOPES are being raised that a main road in Barrow will soon reopen as work has started to secure a fire-ravaged building.

Following assessments by the loss adjuster's structural engineer this week, work is now being carried out to secure and shore up the House of Lords building in Abbey Road after it was devastated by a fire.

The structure was left significantly damaged by the blaze, earlier this month, and the road has been closed since amid fears for public safety.

No one was hurt during the fire although one of the 60 firefighters involved in tackling the blaze did receive a minor leg injury. A group of three firefighters miraculously escaped unhurt when part of the front of the building collapsed nearby.

The Evening Mail understands that if the building can be safely shored up - secured with hoarding and scaffolding, the entire four lanes of Abbey Road could reopen.

However, if the structural engineer and building control experts say that only part of the road can reopen, the two southbound lanes and one northbound lane will reopen, leaving the lane next to the building closed.

Station manager Roger Exley confirmed that an investigation is ongoing but it is still too dangerous for firefighters to enter the building.

He said: "It is still too unsafe for firefighters to enter. It's just not structurally sound for people to go into the building.

"We need to do some digging but that could cause the building to collapse even further - it just won't isn't worth the risk."

Further inspections will be carried out by a structural engineer on Monday with fire bosses keen to gain access to the building so they can carry out tests to determine the cause of the fire.

It is expected that once the road reopens, it will be considered safe for investigators to get close enough to begin their work.

The front, right-hand annexe of the building, which collapsed first, is believed to be where the fire started. If allowed inside, fire investigators will examine the remains of the building to find evidence of any accelerants which could explain why the fire was so fierce.

Mr Exley said earlier this week that he hoped to carry out a reconstruction to determine how and why the fire took hold so suddenly.

"For a Victorian building it shouldn't have come down that quickly," Mr Exley said.

"We will look at what can cause a fire then try and remove those sources of ignition which are not present.

"We might not find anything, we might be in the same position as we are now but we have to have a look. It will take some time; you have to go through it bit by bit."

If and when the investigation are allowed inside, specialist units from Manchester or Liverpool could be involved, including fire dogs which can sniff out the use of any accelerants such as gas or petrol.

Mr Exley added: "It might take some time, but we will do our best to get to the bottom of what caused the fire and why it was so ferocious."