|
|
 |
| |
Blaze damage over the entrance to Oxenholme |
Cigarette may have caused fire in tower block
Smoke alarm concern after evacuation
FIFTY people were evacuated as thick smoke trapped residents in a Camden Town tower block on Tuesday night.
A fire on the roof of the entrance of the Oxenholme block on the Ampthill Square estate in Hampstead Road spread smoke through the stairwells of the 20-storey block. Families were told to stay in their flats as firefighters cleared the building floor by floor.
One resident said fire investigators had removed charred furniture from the roof of the block’s porch, where the fire started, prompting rumours that a burning chair was thrown from an upper floor.
But yesterday (Wednesday), the Fire Brigade said that the blaze was thought to be accidental.
In a statement, the Brigade said: “Part of the wooden fascia on the front of the 20-floor building caught fire. The fascia was left damaged and there was heavy smoke logging throughout the building’s communal areas. The fire is believed to have been caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette.”
Fran Heron, chairwoman of the Ampthill Square estate tenants’ association, praised the firefighters for their rapid response.
She said: “The biggest concern was the speed at which the smoke spread throughout the building. I am on the 17th floor, and I was ringing neighbours in another block to see if they could see if there was a fire in the flat below.
“Mercifully, there were no fatalities, and everybody behaved well. We now need to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. There’s going to be a full investigation.”
Paul Tomlinson, who lives on the 10th floor, said the absence of a functioning alarm system in the block meant that people only became aware of the fire when smoke started to come into their flats.
Several residents expressed concern that the newly refurbished estate did not have alarms in its communal areas.
Camden Council avoided enforcement action from the Fire Brigade in 2007 by committing £4.5million to an overhaul of fire safety on its estates after another tower block, Bucklebury in Stanhope Street, filled with smoke due to faulty fire door.
By law, buildings of the age of the Ampthill estate do not automatically have central fire alarms fitted.
A council spokeswoman said the Town Hall was awaiting the report into the fire. |
 |
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
