Islington Tribune - News: Ex-hostel blast sparks probe

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Islington Tribune - by MARK BLUNDEN
Published: 24 August 2007

The gutted old hostel

Ex-hostel blast sparks probe

INVESTIGATORS are examining how a former hostel in a Finsbury back street caught fire on Saturday morning.
Judd House, in Mora Street, had recently been vacated by squatters after lying vacant for up to a year.
Much of the ground and first floors were gutted by fire and witnesses said the force of an explosion caused a number of windows to blow out.
One mother-of-two, 37, from nearby Gambier House, said: “There was a really loud bang and a popping sound. It was early, about 7am, and the sound made me wake up with a start.
“I looked out of the window and saw flames licking through the holes where the windows were.
“The place has been empty for quite a while and it’s lucky no one was inside.
“There was glass everywhere, all over the road and the pavement.”
Other residents of Gambier House, which is opposite Judd House, said the fire was rumoured to have started from a gas leak.
Around 30 firefighters from Shoreditch, Clerkenwell and Islington stations took three hours to bring the blaze under control. Mora Street was closed until 4pm.
A spokeswoman for Islington police said: “There was no one inside the building at the time of the fire and it is not being treated as suspicious.”
London Fire Brigade said part of the ground floor and first floor were damaged by the blaze and the cause is under investigation.
The hostel had been run by Westminster Council until about a year ago.
Westminster said they closed it down in accordance with government targets to get the homeless out of temporary accommodation.
It is believed to have been acquired by the Paddington Churches Housing Association.

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