‘We’ve lost everything’ say neighbours of blaze
BESTWOOD FIRE FORCES RESIDENTS TO EVACUATE 26 HOMES
NEIGHBOURS who were forced to evacuate their homes to flee a devastating fire say they have “lost everything”.
An investigation was launched on Sunday after a grass fire in Bestwood spread to a house and threatened to reach nearby homes.
Eight fire engines were called to the blaze in Stevenholme Crescent. The incident was reported to Nottinghamshire Police shortly before 4.45pm.
Officers closed all roads in the vicinity and evacuated 26 homes as a precaution while firefighters tackled the blaze. Now residents living next to the blaze, some of whom have had their gardens destroyed, have spoken about the ordeal.
Pauline Roylance, 79, a retired resident who was forced to flee from her home, said: “We’ve lost everything. The shed is gone, our equipment for the garden has all been burnt – it’s been dreadful.
“I’m a keen gardener. I have always prided myself in having the nicest garden. I’m very upset.
“You wake up every day and go to work during your life and now so much has been taken away and you think, ‘what’s the point?.’
“The fire tore through so many of the houses – I’ve been saying for ages that something needed to be done because it was a fire waiting to happen, but it’s too late now.
“We had to wait outside for four or five hours while it was going on.”
Sarah Lounds, 39, said: “The fire was massive – luckily it stopped spreading just before it got to our house, but it was really massive. It’s not even the first time it’s happened – it’s happened so many times, and a lot recently.
“There’s a huge grassy patch behind the houses where these fires can break out.”
A house in Stevenholme Crescent was badly damaged, but no injuries were reported. Some fences and sheds nearby were also damaged.
The fire was out by around 6.40pm. Roads were reopened and a joint police and fire investigation is now underway.
John Lucas, 67, who lives nearby, said: “There were huge crowds of people who were forced to evacuate their homes – horrible to see. The fire seems to have devastated a huge part of the field behind those houses.
“It’s lucky that that’s all it did. The fire was huge and ripped through so quickly – people could’ve been seriously hurt or been in trouble.
“This isn’t the first time, either. I think it’s probably because of the heat, but there have been some fires around this area recently and something needs to be done about that.”
Police have launched an appeal following the “serious blaze”. Detective Sergeant Simon Carter said: “Had it not been for the efforts of Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service the consequences could have been even worse. We are currently working to understand how this blaze started and are at the very early stages of our investigation.
“We would like to speak to anybody who saw anything suspicious in the area before or after the blaze started. During this unprecedented spell of hot weather, what happened yesterday should serve as a warning to everybody that even small fires in the open can very quickly spread and get out of control.”