Fire at Dursley flats thought to be arson
A fire which broke out in a block of flats on 1st April is being treated as suspicious.
Residents, including a couple and their 2 children had to flee the burning building. Dan and Sarah Elliot had to run through the flames with their 2 young twins, Amelia and Isobel. Mr Elliot said: “There was no other way out. The girls were in bed, we didn’t even wake them up, we just grabbed them, wrapped them in blankets and had to run through the fire to get out. It was just thick black smoke, you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face.”
Connie Lusmore, another resident in the flats had recently returned from hospital after receiving treatment for a blood clot and was too ill to move. Her teenage son stayed with her and tried to keep her calm. Connie said; “It all happened so fast. It was panic at first but the lady on the phone said to shut the door and get as far away from the fire as possible.”
Neighbour, John Jenkins was hailed a ‘hero’ after running from his home wearing just his boxer shorts to throw water onto the flames. Mr Jenkins who applied to be a part time firefighter but was rejected due to health reasons said: “I’m going to keep trying, it’s something I really want to do. I failed my cardio test by a tiny amount. If I work on that, I think i’ll get in. I’d had all the training so I knew what I was doing but the fire service wasn’t happy with me when they turned up. They told me to get the hell out of there.”
An investigation into the cause of the fire will be carried out but the incident is being treated as arson.
Woman rescued from house after neighbour spots fire
A woman has had a lucky escape after being rescued from a fire in her home in Staffordshire on Sunday night.
The fire was spotted by neighbour, Miss Lorraine Jackson who was on the phone to her mother when she looked out of her window and saw flames coming from the bedroom window.
Miss Jackson immediately called the emergency services and then alerted other neighbours to the fire.
Miss Jackson said; “I was on the phone to my mother and I just looked out and saw flames coming out of the window. I told my mum I’d call her back, rang the fire brigade and ran over and started banging on my neighbours door. It was lucky because I just happened to look out of the window. In another 10 minutes I was going to go up to bed.”
15 firefighters attended the fire, along with 2 doctors, an ambulance and a rapid response vehicle.
An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire.
Arson suspected as 10,000 costumes go up in flames
A serious fire which broke out on Saturday at around 3.30am has destroyed thousands of costumes that were used in films such as The King’s Speech.
The costume hire business in Market Street, Torquay has supplied costumes to the stage and screen since 1966 and have been worn by many actors including Brian Blessed, Edward Woodward and Oliver Reed.
Around 50 firefighters attended the blaze which destroyed over 10,000 ‘irreplaceable’ costumes.
The owner of the company, Mr Lionel Digby said; “It is finished. The only things that haven’t been damaged is the stuff that is not valuable. You can’t replace things that were made in 1914, they were collectors’ items. At 76 years of age do I really want to start all over again? Perhaps this is God’s way of telling me to take it easy.”
It is not yet known how the fire started but a 28 year old has been arrested and is due to appear in court charged with six offences including burglary and arson.
London landlord fined £18,000 for fire safety breaches
A London landlord has been found guilty of several fire safety breaches.
Mr Adrian Francis Lasrado from Wallington was told by the council that he was not permitted to rent his renovated property because the property did not comply with fire safety standards including having no suitable fire escape.
Despite the council prohibition order, Mr Lasrado rented the property to a family with 2 young children.
The landlord has now been prosecuted and fined £10,000 for the planning offence and £5,000 for failing to comply with the prohibition order. He was also ordered to pay £3,585 in costs.
Councillor Jayne McCoy from Sutton Council’s housing department, said: “These were blatant contraventions, which placed the lives of vulnerable tenants at risk. The fines issued are extremely high and reflect the seriousness of the offences and the disregard shown by Mr Lasrado to the law and the safety of his tenants. We have a good working relationship with the vast majority of landlords in Sutton and this was an exceptional case, but we will not hesitate to take formal action to protect the lives of our residents.”
Fire Awareness Training – Halifax
Clear and concise, relevant to work & home on an everyday basis – Antonia Dorsey
Very good presentation very helpful to our job, training very understanding – Peter Rothery
Really good, makes you think – Graham Howard