Residents and restaurant employees raced to quench the flames with buckets of water, saving a 12th-century abbey from an arson attack.
Shortly after 9 p.m. on Friday, firefighters were dispatched to reports of a fire at Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire.
The fire crew discovered that the blaze was under control after a 10-mile dash from Chippenham.
Local citizens used buckets of water and extinguishers to put out the fires, which included employees from The Bird Cage restaurant, The Old Bell Hotel, and the Co-op Food store.
One local resident praised their efforts on social media, writing: ‘It could have been a very different ending without everyone being so incredible. Well done everyone!’
To completely extinguish the fires, firefighters utilized one hose reel, drags, and a thermal imaging camera, according to Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.
The fire is thought to have originated when yobs set fire to trash and garbage outside the 12th-century abbey.
The abbey was constructed on the foundation of an ancient Saxon monastery that dates back to AD700.
When Athelstan, the first king of England, died in 939, he was buried in Malmesbury Abbey.
It was an important Benedictine Abbey and a recognized centre of learning by the 12th century.
It had the second greatest library in Europe at the time, and among its residents was the 12th-century historian William of Malmesbury.
After surviving prior fires and the English Civil War, it was accorded a Grade I listing in 1949.