Firefighters responded quickly to a serious fire at a block of flats on Westbridge Road, Battersea, this evening. The blaze reportedly began when an unattended candle ignited curtains in a 20th-floor flat, rapidly engulfing the apartment in flames.
Five people evacuated the affected flat before the fire service arrived. A woman and a child were taken to hospital by ambulance crews. Meanwhile, another 50 residents safely left the building amid thick smoke and chaos.
Station Commander Peter Johnson, who was on the scene, said: “Crews faced heavy smoke and visible flames shooting from the top of the block. That sparked a surge of 18 emergency calls to our Control Officers.”
Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters from Battersea, Fulham, Wandsworth, North Kensington, and nearby stations worked together to tackle the fire. The Brigade received the call at 8:02 pm and brought the fire under control within 51 minutes, by 8:53 pm.
The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, but early reports indicate that the unattended candle was the likely cause.
Originally published by UKNIP.
