Man held after blaze tears through attic

Photo: Paul Sterritt

Firemen from Greater Manchester Fire Brigade attend a house fire on, Greenhill road, Chadderton.

AROUND 35 firefighters tackled a large attic fire at a terrace house at the border of Chadderton and Middleton last night.

Three fire engines initially responded to the incident on Greenhill Road following reports of a fire involving the roof shortly before 7pm.

When they arrived firefighters requested further appliances due to the potential for the fire to spread and four more engines and an aerial platform attended.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service station manager Jon Crawley, who was in charge of the incident, said: “We were concerned that the fire could spread to adjoining properties but the initial actions of the crews that attended managed to stop this happening.

“The fire involved the attic of the house and it was beginning to work its way down into the bedroom but firefighters worked hard to try and reduce the damage inside and salvage what they could.”

Crews used eight breathing apparatus, hose reels, jets, ladders, the aerial platform and the Ultra High Pressure Cold Cut Lance to bring the fire under control.

One man suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to hospital by paramedics.

Firefighters searched the property to make sure there was nobody else inside and searched the adjoining homes to ensure there were no signs of fire spread.

Two fire engines and the aerial platform remained on the scene into the night stripping back the roof to check for further signs of fire.

Station manager Crawley added: “A joint investigation between ourselves and Greater Manchester Police will be carried out to establish the cause of the fire.”