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.
Fire at North Shields recycling centre
Over 30 firefighters from 3 fire crews battled a serious fire at a recycling centre in North Shields last weekend.
The fire started at the North Tyneside Council Waste and Recycling Centre at around 10am on Saturday.
Emergency services closed lanes on the nearby dual carriage way due to the large amount of thick black smoke coming from the fire. Local residents were advised to keep doors and windows closed, and to remain inside if possible.
All staff were safely evacuated from the building and fire crews prevented the flames from spreading to neighbouring office blocks.
Kevin Dodds from Gosforth Fire Station said: “We quickly established and confirmed with the site management, that the materials on fire were not hazardous. That was initially our first concern, obviously for the safety of the crews involved and the public at large. The cause has yet to be investigated.”
Fire Warden Training – Milton Keynes
Very detailed and useful – Suma Mathew
Very informative, the training was informative and it has shown me how important it is to have fire drills – Michaela Wainwer
Very informative, practical training with extinguishers helpful and confidence building, as a team leader it has given me more of an insight into further responsibilities that I have to people in the building – Marie Bradley
Very informative really interesting, the fire trainer was really good – Tracy Willimott
Actions discussed & raised which need to be put into actions, useful points for work and home, will put knowledge and training into place – Angie Duncan
Found it very interesting learnt alot, very educational – Tracy Ladyman
Detailed information, training was detailed well organised clear presentation and easy to understand – Danni Gwenzi
Very informative and relevant, the training will help me prepare better – Sue Custance
Very interesting learnt lots about how to evacuate and respond, training was very interesting and relevant to me on how to deal with fire while working in a residential home – Emma Bird
Was appropiate and interesting – Angela Wells
Elderly man has lucky escape from cigarette fire
A 91 year old man from East Grinstead has had a lucky escape after a fire broke out at his flat while he slept.
The man, who is deaf, discarded a cigarette which then set fire to a tea towel on the windowsill.
Luckily, the property is wired to a community alarm company that monitors the sheltered flat so the fire services were alerted very quickly.
The elderly gentleman was oblivious to the drama as he was not wearing his hearing aid. The fire was quickly extinguished and the gentleman was led to safety and given oxygen after suffering from smoke inhalation. He did not require any hospital treatment.
Mr Brookes from East Grinstead Fire Station said: “It does not take long for a fire to spread in the home, as there are usually many combustible materials close together.”
Fire crews returned to his flat the next day to fit a special vibrating alarm designed for residents with hearing problems.
Fire Warden Training – Sheffield
As a receptionist it is most important to my role to know my responsibilities regarding signing in, this has clarified things for me and I shall be implementing some changes as a result of this course – Kirsty Smith
It was very informative and relaxed – Joanne Rowley
Very useful for both work and home, useful and well presented – Elizabeth Jackson
Informative and interesting – Helen Dean
Thought the session really good opens eyes – Sharon Burns