2 UK FFs Die in Apt.Bldg. Fire

[Guest hoss]

In Stevenage, UK, two British brother FFs died in an apartment tower fire this am. Our condolences go to their families, friends, the Stevenage Fire Station, the Hertfordshire Fire Service and the UK Fire Brigades Union.

Wed 2 Feb 2005 

12:14pm (UK)

Firefighters among Three Dead at Flats Blaze

By Rachel Williams, Neville Dean and Jennifer Sym, PA

Two firefighters died today as they battled to save residents trapped near the top of a blazing block of flats.

A third person was killed and another was in a critical condition in hospital after fire ripped through two floors of the block in Silam Road, Stevenage.

Six more residents were taken to the town’s Lister Hospital following the blaze in the early hours of the morning, and around 70 people had to be evacuated.

The fire took hold in a flat on the 14th floor of the 17-storey H-shaped concrete tower block and swiftly spread to the level above.

Neighbours described the damage to the 1960s block, one of three on the road, as “horrendousâ€.

Others told of the scene as evacuated residents in their dressing gowns huddled in the road watching as the blaze engulfed their homes.

The flat in Harrow Court where the fire started at around 3am was burnt out, with windows shattered by the force of the heat.

Flats above had been damaged and the top four floors of the block were blackened with soot and ash.

The two male firefighters killed, who came from Stevenage station, were among more than 60 who attended the scene in 16 fire engines from across the county.

Fire officers were investigating the cause of the blaze.

Neighbour Terry Hyde described how ambulance crews, firefighters and police had surrounded the base of the tower block.

“There is a hell of a lot of smoke damage to the building, it is quite horrendous,†Mr Hyde said.

“It was obviously an intense fire.â€

Another local resident, Bruce Bullock, who used to live in the block just two floors below where the blaze struck, said the damage made it obvious there had been a “major fireâ€.

He said there were six flats on each floor of the tower block – four with two bedrooms and two with one, and probably more than 100 residents in total.

Irene Harod, who lives opposite the flats in Inskip Crescent, was woken by husband Robert in the early hours of this morning.

The retired cook, who has worked for the fire station, said: “There was flashing lights all over the place. We looked out of the window and we saw it was well alight then, sparks and that coming down.

“We just couldn’t believe it – it looked like one big orange glow.â€

The couple offered tea and warm clothing to residents evacuated from the block.

Hertfordshire Fire Service said the fire had been completely out for some time.

Andy Gilchrist, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “We are deeply saddened at the loss of our two colleagues who died in the line of duty.

“We are also saddened at the death of a member of the public. Our deepest sympathies are with the families of those who died.

“Our thoughts are also with those who were injured in the fire and their families and we wish them a speedy recovery.â€

The union said there had been 47 deaths of firefighters in England and Wales since 1977.