Miracle as residents rescued from tower block
Grenfell tower fire to safety. He was very upset and distressed. As he was being helped, the fire was brought under control by our officers but the flat was gutted and this poor gentleman has lost everything.
“He has suffered smoke inhalation and is being looked after in hospital but he is alive and safe and that is the main thing.
“This was a very serious incident and life was at risk.”
Nine fire engines, including one aerial appliance, and 55 crew members were tasked as residents in Seymour Hill looked on.
Firefighters took five people to safety and six residents of the 56 flats needed medical treatment, four at the scene.
The blaze was reported at teatime and the Fire Service got the flames under control within 38 minutes.
Mr Somerville said it was well developed when crews arrived within five minutes. He said: “I am very relieved there is no loss of life and that is only because of the courageous actions of our firefighters here today.”
The fire comes five months a day after the Grenfell high-rise inferno that killed at least 80 people in London.
Residents of the evacuated 14-storey building in Dunmurrry gathered outside as the emergency response got under way.
Some went to a community centre and others expressed concerns they had not heard a fire alarm when the blaze took hold. But Mr Somerville confirmed the alert system was operating.
He explained a soundless alarm in the communal area that triggers air vents was activated – and alarms in other flats would only have sounded if they had detected smoke.
Mr Somerville said: “The fire was contained in flat 9B but people may have been alarmed by the sight of flames and smoke coming on the side of the building but that was coming out of smoke extraction vents which is what they are designed for – they are put in to help the fire service deal with fire in the building.” The officer added crews averted the spread of flames to other homes.
Julie Ann Jackson, from the Seymour Hill and Conway Residents Association, said: “I think they were shocked from Grenfell and after tonight they are really shocked.”
Firefighter Geoff Somerville Flats at Seymour Hill, Belfast, yesterday