DEVASTATION LAID BARE AT PENSIONERS’ BLAZE HOUSE
Elderly pair escaped fire with their dog
THIS is the scene of devastation after fire ripped through a house.
Police have boarded up a door and window at the front of the Burslem property, which is covered in soot.
The two occupants – an elderly brother and sister – escaped along with their dog from the High Lane building. They suffered just smoke inhalation and have been put up in emergency accommodation.
Now Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is continuing its investigation into Sunday afternoon’s blaze.
The alarm was raised at 3.26pm and part of High Lane was cordoned off for several hours. Firefighters stayed there until 9.52pm.
A fire service spokesman said: “Firefighters found the building wellalight and the occupants, including a dog, safely outside the address.
“They used four breathing apparatus and two hose-reel jets to extinguish the fire. One woman and a man, both in their 80s, were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene.
“The man was conveyed to hospital for further checks and later discharged. The pair were placed in emergency accommodation. An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.”
Next-door neighbour Maureen Stubbs, who is looking after the dog, said it was the second fire at the property in five years.
The 84-year-old said: “They’re both in their 80s and are good neighbours. He’d do anything for me and we’d talk over the wall. I saw a big fire coming out of the door. It was billowing out. All he was worried about was his dog.”
The fire saw the neighbourhood enveloped with the smell of smoke.
Fellow neighbour Farrukh Javed, aged 40, said: “We saw the smoke and went into the garden. Then when we went out the front we saw the fire.
“It was a big shock for us – we were very worried. We could smell smoke in our house.”
Alan Ball lives across the road from the damaged home. The 80-year-old said: “The fire brigade told me it was a big fire and I asked if the brother and sister were okay.”
West Midlands Ambulance Service says the occupants suffered minor injuries. A spokeswoman said: “One ambulance attended and assessed two patients, a man and a woman, who had sustained minor injuries.
“The woman was discharged at the scene and the man was conveyed to the Royal Stoke University Hospital for further checks.”