Four now homeless after blaze at flats
Four people, including a young child, have been made homeless less than a fortnight before Christmas after fire ripped through their home.
The blaze broke out at a twostorey house in Sedley Close, Aylesford, which has been converted into flats, just after 3am on Monday.
At 5.30am firefighters were called to another fire at a second floor flat in Coombe Road, Tovil, where they rescued a cat.
Occupants in the Aylesford home were lucky to escape. There was a battery missing in the smoke alarm so it did not go off, a Kent Fire and Rescue Service ( KFRS) spokesman revealed. One person was woken by the noise of the fire and everyone managed to get out. A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “There was thick black smoke coming out of the garage and huge flames at the back of the house.
“There were about four fire engines and a lot of people had gathered in the street.
“We stayed indoors because we didn’t want to get in the way. There’s a young girl who lives there with her little daughter. That poor girl, everything she owns is in there. There are also two Polish men.”
The blaze is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault in a fridge freezer in the garage and spread to both floors, causing severe damage.
Firefighters said four people needed to be re-homed and a British Red Cross emergency support unit offered help.
The house next door was also damaged.
In Tovil, firefighters used a specialist pet mask to give oxygen to a cat after rescuing it from the heavily smoke-logged flat.
The blaze is believed to have started when a build- up of grease in a cooker caught light and spread to items in the kitchen.
KFRS has warned homeowners to ensure cookers and grills are clean to avoid fires while cooking the Christmas dinner.