Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Fire traps three people on balconies of Minehead flats

FIRE crews mounted a major operation in Minehead to rescue three people trapped on the upper floors of a block of flats which caught fire in the early hours of Tuesday, July 24.
The residents were unable to escape from the property in The Parks, which comprised seven flats, after the blaze broke out in the ground floor rear area of the building.
They became trapped on balconies and were eventually led to safety down a 135-feet high ladder raised by fire crews.
Others did manage to flee the building and they raised the alarm by calling the emergency services, who responded by sending firefighters from four stations in Minehead, Porlock, Williton, and Taunton, a command support unit from Wiveliscombe, and an incident support unit from Taunton, as well as a number of ambulances.
The incident started at about 2 am on Tuesday, and two firemen wearing breathing apparatus entered the building to put out the blaze using a hose reel jet.
An investigation was started later in the day to decide on the cause of the fire.
Photo submitted.

No comments: