Four people rescued following fire in Wirral flats
FOUR people were rescued following a fire at a block of flats in Wallasey this morning.
Fire crews from Wallasey, Birkenhead, Upton and Bromborough were called to a semi-detached house that had been split into three flats on Seabank Road, at around 7.30am, following reports of a fire. On arrival, they found the ground floor flat was well alight and a man from the ground floor flat had escaped.
A mother and daughter from the first floor flat had been rescued by passersby through a side entrance.
A mother and son were rescued from their second floor flat via an external staircase and taken to Arrowe Park Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
Watch Manager Darin Speed of Wallasey said: "When we arrived it was utter chaos.
"There were lots of people about and smoke was coming out of every window on all three floors.
"Initially crews were committed to the ground floor flat to search and extinguish the fire but then we got information that people were trapped in the second floor flat.
"The crew was recommitted to the top floor and they accessed the flat by an external staircase.
"I saw an adult waving from the skylight window but crews were already in the flat searching and found two adults in a bedroom.
"Due to the smoke they were frightened that they would not be able to get out but firefighters Damien Roberts and Iain Woodside reassured them, told them to cover their mouths with a pillowcase and led them to safety.
"The crews reacted in an extremely quick and professional manner which led to saving the lives of the two people in the top floor flat."
Group manager Paul Murphy said: "This was a very professional job by fire crews.
"They made a rapid assessment of the scene and their timely decision-making led to the rescue of two people."
An investigation is now underway into the cause of the fire.
THE GLOBE
