Martindale Close House Fire

Lancashire Telegraph

martindale close house fire

Couple speak of horror after neighbour’s house fire
neil athey reporter
Mukhtar Ali, 29, and his 26-year-old wife, Rozina, feared the flames would wreck their home in Martindale Close, Blackburn.
The couple, who had only lived in the house for five months, were staying in Wales when police called them to say the roof of their house had been damaged in the blaze.
Mr Ali, an NHS a primary care support officer, said: “We have no power so we can’t live here for a while. We are staying in a hotel.

“There’s damage to the roof, water damage on the ceiling upstairs and the house reeks of smoke.
“We were really scared when we got the call and drove home immediately, thinking all our belongings were going to be damaged.”
Six fire engines and two support vehicles were called to the blaze at 7.50am on Sunday.
A fire service spokesman said no one was inside the house next door to the Alis’ home during the fire.
Every room in the house was badly damaged and due to the intensity of the fire, the roof collapsed.
Firefighters used an aerial ladder to help gain an overview of the damage and make the house safe. The last firefighters came away from the house at 6pm, almost 10 hours after arriving.
A police spokesman said the fire had been caused by an electrical fault and officers were investigating.
Mr Ali said firefighters tried to break through the front door before cutting the back gate open to get into their garden to stop the blaze spreading.
Mr Ali added: “We are so thankful we were not in the house that night. The fire could have spread inside our house, not just in the roof.
“We might not have got out with all the smoke. It’s scary to think what might have happened.
“The fire service said if the fire had been left any longer it would have destroyed our roof too.”

Neil Athey reporter

Roof collapses as huge fire guts shadsworth family home 9th sep 2018

A roof collapsed after a huge fire gutted a family home in Shadsworth
Firefighters were called at 7.50am today to the blaze in Martindale Close
Emergency services are still at the scene
There are currently five engines on the road and police are there too
It appears as if next door were not in at the time either. That house has suffered minimal damage.
It looks as if the firefighters will be here for the rest of the day making the property safe. CSI have gone now.
11,26 Fire fighters are now putting on breathing apparatus. Looks like they are preparing to go back into the house. They are also pulling up hoses back to the property.
11.21 There are now eight fire engines / fire service vehicles at the scene, a police car and crime scene investigators.
11.20 Plumes of smoke can now be seen across Shadsworth Road.
11.19 Here are another couple of images coming from the back of the property this time. It looks pretty bad.
11.17 Another Martindale resident said: “I could see the flames from the house hitting the TV aerial. It was really scary. I looked out of my window and saw smoke everywhere and fire engines.”
There is now a police CSI van at the scene too so some suggestion that this could be a deliberate attack. We’ll let you know when we know more.
11.03 A local resident said they believe the house was empty but we are yet to hear anything official on that front but there are no reported injuries at the moment.
10.55 The house has now been taped off by the fire service and firefighters are now looking at the house from above.
10.46 Having pulled all the crews out of the building, firefighters are now preparing an aerial platform to tackle the fire.
10.43 All the rooms have suffered damage as a result of this severe fire. While we were withdrawing the roof started to collapse so we have pulled all crews out of the building for safety. The cause of the fire is not known at the moment and we are working with police.
Steve Omar, Blackburn Fire Station
10.41 The fire service has described the incident as a ‘severe fire’. Steve Omar from Blackburn Fire Station told us the blaze was ‘well developed’ when they arrived at the scene.
10.39 A roof collapsed after a huge fire gutted a family home in Shadsworth. Firefighters were called at 7.50am today to the blaze in Martindale Close. Emergency services are still at the scene at 10.30am. There are currently five engines on the road. Police are there too. We have a reporter at the scene. More updates here as we get them.

Six fire crews from across East Lancashire were called to Martindale Close in Shadsworth, Blackburn, after a large fire broke out at the home at 7.50am. Every room in the house had been badly damaged by the blaze and due to the intensity of the fire, the roof collapsed.
The house was taped off by the fire service as pieces of roof tiles were falling from the roof into the building. The police and Electricity North West were also on hand to help the fire service.

There were eight Lancashire Fire and Rescue vehicles on hand throughout the morning while firefighters assessed the damage. Burning embers could be seen inside the house and smoke blew over neighbouring Shadsworth Road.
A Martindale Close resident said: “I could see the flames from the house hitting the TV aerial.
“It was really scary. I looked out of my window and saw smoke everywhere and fire engines.”
The neighbouring attached house suffered ‘minimal’ damage, which included damage to the felt in the roof. Another Martindale Close resident said: “I woke up and saw all the fire engines. I was really worried about what was going on.
“I was worried about how the fire had started and if it would spread to other houses.” Firefighters used an aerial ladder to help gain an overview of the damage and make the house safe before entering.
Smoke extractors were placed around the front of the house to keep it from blowing into nearby houses. A police spokesman said the fire was caused by an electrical fault and the officers would be taking part in an investigation with the fire service.
Steve Omar, watch manager at Blackburn Fire Station, said: “All the rooms have suffered damage as a result of this severe fire.
“While we were withdrawing the roof started to collapse so we have pulled all crews out of the building for safety.
“We are working with police.”