Fire chiefs have concerned that everyone was accounted for as a blaze destroyed flats in Pankhurst Avenue, Brighton, last night (Friday 20 September).
“At around 8.30pm the Sussex Control Centre began receiving multiple calls to a fire in a residential three-storey block of flats in Brighton.
“Upon arrival, firefighters were confronted by a serious and rapidly escalating fire in the roof.
“Initially firefighters wearing breathing apparatus assisted with the evacuation of residents who were then handed over to the care of Secamb (South East Coast Ambulance Service) to be assessed for any injuries.
“Firefighters then continued to search the building until it became unsafe and all crews were evacuated to a safe distance.
“All the evacuated residents were provided temporary shelter at a local community centre and then provided overnight accommodation by Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC).
“Firefighters then used two aerial ladder platforms and hose reel jets to combat the fire with operations continuing throughout the night.
“Working with the police and BHCC a systematic process to determine all the residents had evacuated safely from the property resulted in all residents being accounted for early this morning.
“We currently have one aerial ladder platform and one appliance on scene who are dealing with hot spots and damping down, fire investigation has also commenced to determine the cause of the fire.
“Crews are also involved in local community engagement to carry out home safety visits and provide information and reassurance to nearby residents where required.
“A total of 10 fire engines and two aerial appliances were required to deal with the incident which placed additional demand on the service alongside the four-pump incident in Bexhill and a further simultaneous four-pump incident in East Wittering in West Sussex.
“The efforts of all crews demonstrate the tremendous courage and professionalism of our firefighters in the face of the most challenging situations.
“The initial actions of the crews in Brighton certainly made a significant contribution to making sure all residents managed to evacuate the building safely despite the rapid and dramatic escalation of the fire.
“The incident also highlighted excellent multi-agency collaboration with Sussex Police, Secamb, Brighton and Hove City Council and of course our colleagues from West Sussex Fire and Rescue.
“Further information about the cause of the fire will be provided in due course.”
There appears to be a dramatic increase in fires in apartment blocks since Grenfell.This one at Pankhurst Avenue looks like the roof became engulfed and spread rapidly.
Are there no fire walls being built into roof spaces in smaller new build apartments allowing fires to spread at an alarming rate and walls being stud frame rather than brick or concrete blocks adding more risk?
Perhaps Julie Cattell could add her knowledge to what is happening?
Julie Cattell had nothing to do with this building. It was approved 2006/7 under Labour (before she became a councillor) and built under Tory admin. It has been in existence only 10 years approx. Previously it had been part of a reservoir site and much fuss was made by the Greens who prefered allotments to housing.