Candle fire guts Weston flat

Tuesday 22 May 2007
10.56 Madeira Court, Knightstone Road, Weston-super-Mare

Three pumps and the turntable ladder from Weston-super-Mare and a retained crew from Clevedon were called to this blaze in a flat in a five storey building on the sea front.

The fire is believed to have started by a lit tea light which was placed on a window sill and subsequently set light to curtains.

On arrival crews found the fire was well alight and four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus (BA) were sent in with a CO2 extinguisher while the turntable ladder directed two jets at the blaze from outside.

Around 40-50 residents of the building were evacuated during the incident.

A further two BA wearers went into the flat, which was gutted as a result of the fire, to assist in damping down. While the surrounding corridors were smoke logged, none of the other flats were affected as a result of the fire.