13 February 2009

Firefighters rescued seven people after a fire broke out in a block of flats last night.

Crews from Bletchley, Great Holm and Broughton were called to the two-storey building in Dorchester Avenue, Bletchley, at 9.11pm.

A fire in one of the ground-floor flats had smoke-logged the stairs, cutting off the main escape route for residents, and smoke was entering the other seven flats.

Four men were rescued from upstairs windows using ladders, two were led to safety from the ground floor and one was lifted out of a ground-floor window.

Eight firefighters wearing breathing apparatus carried out a thorough search of all the flats using thermal imaging cameras. The fire was put out with two hose reels and a jet, and the building cleared of smoke with Positive Pressure Ventilation fans.

Watch Manager Chris Montague from Great Holm Fire Station, the initial incident commander, said: "The fire was well developed when it was spotted by a neighbour. Although a number of people were at their windows waiting to be rescued when we arrived, it was not immediately clear how many other people were in the building.

"After the first crews arrived, we were quickly able to bring in additional appliances from nearby. As we brought people out, we were able to look after them and give them oxygen while the ambulances were on their way.

"The crews did a fantastic job to locate everyone so quickly, get them outside to safety and fresh air and check that everyone was accounted for."

The rescue operation took a total about 20 minutes. Firefighters were on the scene for around three hours, and returned at two-hourly intervals to reinspect the building.

An investigation into the cause of the fire has been launched. Kerry Burns, Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service's fire investigation dog handler, will be visiting the scene this morning with fire investigation dogs Barney and Ember.

The British Red Cross also attended in their Fire & Emergency Support Service camper van, based at Bletchley Fire Station, to help to people affected by the fire.