Panic as fire tears through block of flats

CHARRED rubbish is removed from the scene of the fire

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PANIC-stricken residents were being urged to leap from their first floor properties on Saturday night following a blaze drama in a block of flats on the Barker Street Estate.

Residents in the Tentercroft block, Flora Street, which is managed by First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO), were left trapped on their first floor, smoke-filled landing after a sofa and rubbish piled up near a bin chute on a first floor walkway was set alight at about 10pm.

The flames caught the top of the walkway, knocking out the heating, water and electricity to flats in the five-storey block.

Fire crews from Oldham, Hollins and Chadderton arrived at the scene to witness people on the ground floor urging residents on the first floor to leap 20ft to safety.

Crew Commander Steve Moran, from Oldham fire station, said: "People vacated their flats thinking it was a property on fire.

"When they couldn't get past the blaze in the walkway they started to panic.

"When we arrived, there were people on the ground floor shouting up to friends and family to jump down, but the residents would have actually been safer staying inside their properties."

Crews used water to extinguish the blaze, with the first floor damaged by fire and the second by smoke.

There were no injuries and no-one needed medical assistance.

Crew Commander Moran said:have been properly disposed of in the communal bin. A few people suffered from smoke inhalation but luckily there were no injuries."

Residents were helped by First Choice Homes staff to find alternative accommodation with family or friends, and one resident was put up in a hotel overnight while the utilities were isolated.

The damaged electricity supply also affected neighbouring Monkswood and Finchcroft blocks, with 80 properties affected overall.

Yesterday, FCHO opened up the Barker Street Community Hub for residents to get advice, assistance and refreshments while work continued to repair the damaged utilities. The electricity supply was restored at about 2pm yesterday with all residents able to return home by 5pm.