Man dies in Brighton house fire
A man has died after a fire tore through a disused building in Brighton.
Around 40 firefighters attended the incident at a building in Upper Bedford Street in Kemp Town at around 3.45am on 28th November.
A spokesperson confirmed that a 48 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson.
A spokesperson for East Sussex Fire and Rescue said: “We’re working with police to investigate. Some crew still remain at the scene.”
It is not yet known how the fire was started.
Former Barnsley Working Men’s club destroyed in fire
South Yorkshire firefighters were called to a large fire at a disused working men’s club in Barnsley on 13th November.
Crews spent about six hours at the disused club on Farm Road, Kendray, Barnsley, after the blaze was reported at 12.30am. Within 30 minutes of crews arriving, around 50% of the building had collapsed.
Due to the serious structural problems of the building, crews had to tackle the flames from outside the building using combined aerial rescue pump and jets on the ground.
Firefighters from Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Tankersley, Cudworth and Dearne attended the incident.
Crew manager Gavin Jones from Barnsley Fire Station, said: “When we pulled up we could barely see in front of us, or where the club even was, because there was so much thick smoke. Because there were no reports of people trapped or the possibility of people inside we did not enter the building – it was too unsafe. Within half an hour half of it had collapsed.”
The cause of the fire is not yet known and an investigation will now be carried out.
9 people escape Bristol house fire
Fire crews in Bristol were called to a house fire on Lodge Hill in Cossham at around 7am on 17th November.
A woman and two girls were rescued by firefighters from the roof of the property and six others managed to escape from the house before firefighters arrived.
Four ambulances attended the incident and took a baby, four children, two teenagers and two adults to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.
A spokesman for the Avon Fire and Rescue Service said: “At 6.42am crews from Speedwell and Kingswood attended a house fire at Lodge Hill in Cossham. The service was advised that persons were reported missing in the property and on arrival crews found a developed fire on the ground and first floor of a private house with a number of people requiring rescue. In total there were nine people believed to be in the property, most of whom had already escaped. The service did rescue an adult and two children from the flat roof of the property where we believed they had escaped to. Unfortunately in addition, there was a family dog lost in the fire.”
A spokeswoman for the ambulance service said a boy, aged under five-years-old, was the most seriously injured and is being treated for burns.
The others, which includes a baby under 12-months-old, a boy under five, two girls under 10, two teenagers, a woman aged in her 20’s and a man in his 40’s, were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure but one young boy required specialist care in the burns unit of the hospital.
An investigation into the cause of the fire will be carried out by the fire service and police teams.
Two huge fires broke out in St Albans within 12 hours of each other
Around 10,000 tonnes of recycled wood caught fire at around midnight on Saturday, 10th November and just 12 hours later, wooden pallets containing thousands of plastic trays were alight at Glinwell nursery in Hatfield Road.
Several roads around the recycling centre were closed off and many residents were also without water and electricity.
A spokesman for Affinity Water said: “During peak water demand times, our customers in the area may have no water available to them; however the fire and rescue services are continuing to work with us to reduce their water needs during these peak times. We also understand that some customers are experiencing a drop in pressure and we anticipate these fluctuations in pressure to continue for the duration of the fire.”
Fire crews spent around five days tackling the blaze at the Potters Crouch recycling centre. A St Albans firefighter confirmed that there were four pumps on scene trying to extinguish the fire and they expected it to burn for up to seven days.
This is not the first fire at the recycling depot – four years ago a fire at the site burned for over three months.
Local Councillor Tony Swendell said: “The residents of Potters Crouch have had enough. I believe it should be closed down – it’s detrimental to the environment. Some of the problems that it’s caused are traffic gridlock, loss of power to the locality, as well as loss of water pressure and loss of air quality.”
Ten fire engines attended the fire at the Glinwell Nursery which started just after midday and sent clouds of thick black smoke across the area. Residents were advised to keep their windows shut due to burning plastic on site.
An investigation into the cause of both fires will be carried out.
Fire at Essex timber yard
A fire broke out at a timber yard in Essex on the evening of 6th November. Around 40 residents were forced to evacuate as smoke and flames spread.
The incident happened at around 6pm at Grays Wood Products on Stanley Road in Grays. 50 firefighters from across the region attended the blaze.
A cordon was put in place around the yard while crews battled the intense fire.
Divisional officer Greg Keys said: “Crews faced a real inferno when they arrived at the scene. The corner plot where the shop and yard stood was radiating heat and smoke with the contents of the yard fueled by a whole range of flammable liquids you would expect to find in a timber yard. Fire fighters say the building could collapse at any time. The first priority was to evacuate families as there was every possibility that the blaze was going to spread right through the terrace. While that was going on, the first crews went straight in to the immense heat and smoke to do what they could to save the property and prevent spread. There was nothing that could be done to protect the timber yard and shop but they worked hard to ensure the blaze did not spread beyond the first, adjoining terraced house. The fire is now coming under control and we have ordered a four pump relief with an aerial ladder and expect to be on site through the night. It is unlikely that the families will be able to return to their homes this evening as the houses have no power.”
Crews remained on the scene for almost 12 hours ensuring the flames were properly extinguished. There were no casualties reported in the incident. It was reported that arson was initially suspected but this was later denied.
Divisional Officer, Vernon Kendall said: “The site was completely secure and there was no sign of a break in. On that basis police scenes of crime were not needed at the site.”