40 residents evacuated from West Midlands flats
A fire believed to have started by water leaking into the buildings electrical supply has ripped through a block of flats.
Five fire crews attended the fire which started on the morning of the 5th April. 40 residents were evacuated and several were taken to hospital to be treated for the effects of smoke inhalation. 29 other residents were treated by paramedics at the scene.
About 6 of the flats have suffered very serious smoke damage and the occupants will not be able to return there immediately and will need to find alternative accommodation.
Huge fire destroys Corby pharmaceutical warehouse
A fire has destroyed the Catalant pharmaceutical warehouse in Corby.
The fire which broke out on 25th March destroyed much of the building and firefighters have said that the damage could have been significantly reduced if sprinkler systems had been installed.
Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service group manager, Baz Fox said: “Last week’s factory fire in Corby is a perfect example of how fire can occur at any time and how serious it can become. Tackling a fire at its earliest stages is vital for protecting a building, a company’s assets and the welfare of the people who work there. Sprinklers can begin suppression within moments, extinguishing, or at the very least preventing fire from becoming widespread. Had there been sprinklers installed, it is unlikely that the building would have become fully alight, requiring 100 firefighters to extinguish it.”
Representatives from the company have flown over from the USA to survey the extent of the damage.
An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire.
200 escape fire at Cheltenham nightclub
A fire broke out at a Cheltenham nightclub in the early hours of the 5th of April.
200 revellers were safely evacuated from Lace Night Club in Cheltenham.
The fire which was thought to have started in an air conditioning unit in the roof of the building was attended by 20 firefighters who managed to extinguish the blaze.
Mark Astle from the fire service said: “When our crews arrived, they were met by a full scale evacuation and smoke pouring from the roof. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the building and quickly completed a search for anyone left. Other crews made their way to the top of the building and extinguished the fire, which had spread into cabling. Thankfully, the quick actions of the nightclub staff in clearing the building of so many people prevented this becoming potentially a much more serious incident.”
The cause of the blaze is not yet known but an investigation is being carried out.
Body found in flat above charity shop after fire breaks out
The body of a man has been found in a flat above a charity shop in Surbiton after a fire broke out on the 1st April.
Mr George Quback who is the manager of the Cancer Research UK Charity Shop below the flat said: “I went round the back of the shop and saw the police try to break the window, but they couldn’t do it, so they used a ladder to go through the window on the first floor. It all happened very quickly. The police and the ambulance were here in about 5 minutes. They evacuated the houses next to the building.”
A neighbour who witnessed the incident said: “We were asleep but we just heard a lot of fire alarms and then there were a lot of police coming over. We didn’t know what was happening, we looked out of our window and there was a lot of smoke. I could see it coming from the first floor above the charity shop, the smell was really strong and the whole block was in smoke. We got out of the house and our other neighbours were standing around on the street, it was really bad.”
It took firefighters around 40 minutes to bring the fire under control.
An investigation will be carried out to determine how the fire started and a post mortem is scheduled to confirm how the man died.
Man dies in fire at his Hertfordshire home
A 53 year old man has died in a fire at a block of flats in Letchworth, Hertfordshire.
25 firefighters from Biggleswade and Letchworth fire stations attended the blaze which broke out at around midnight last Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance service said: “Most of the residents were out of the flats on our arrival and were being cared for by police in the street adjacent to the fire.”
The block of flats were cordoned off for some time after the incident while police officers carried out an investigation into the cause of the blaze.