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.
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.
Arson suspected at Lothian bar
A fire which broke out at a bar and restaurant in Tranent destroying much of the building is now thought to have been started deliberately.
Arson dogs trained to sniff out accelerants such as petrol were used at the site and according to a spokesperson for Lothian and Borders fire service has yielded “positive results.”
The fire broke out on Tuesday at around 5am and it took over 30 firefighters many hours to control the fire.
Tranent watch manager, Joe Stockman said “There was an extremely intense heat within the building and it was very smoke logged when we arrived. We had to spend time checking for ‘hot spots’ within the building using breathing apparatus as we needed to be 100% sure that other fires hadn’t broken out in other parts of the property.”
Much of the damage was to the bar, restaurant and function rooms but luckily no one was in the property at the time of the fire and there were no casualties reported.
An investigation is being carried out by Lothian and Borders police. A police spokesperson said “Enquiries carried out by Lothian and Borders fire and rescue service indicate this fire had been started deliberately and we are now investigating to find those responsible.”
Arson suspected at Halal food factory
A fire in the early hours of Monday morning broke out at one of Europe’s largest Halal certified poultry facilities.
No one was injured in the blaze but over 100 wooden pallets were damaged and many trees in the surrounding area were set alight. There were also fears that the fire would spread to lorries and trailers stored in the facility.
The fire follows the company’s recent acceptance for the British Retail Consortium, Global Food Standard accreditation. It’s clients include the NHS and HM prison Services.
A spokesperson said “Our strategy is to become one of the UK’s leading providers of chicken products, not only to the Halal market but also to the conventional chicken sector. Gaining BRC accreditation is the key to unlocking the doors to blue chip food manufacturers and supermarkets.”
Police are studying CCTV footage to ascertain the cause of the fire but initial thoughts point to arson.