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Islington Tribune - by SARA NEWMAN
Published: 18 April 2008

Residents Aga Wiszniowska and Tom Christopher with cleaner Linda Naeche

Early-morning pub blaze ‘suspicious’

Plea to witnesses who saw man in hooded top

POLICE are treating an early-morning blaze at a Holloway pub as suspicious.
Detectives want to interview a man believed to be in the area when the fire erupted in a storage room at The Holloway in Camden Road. No one was injured.
Firefighters evacuated residents of flats above the pub. Seven-months pregnant Aga Wiszniowska, 28, who lives in the flats, said: “The neighbour from downstairs told us there was a fire. He was the one who alerted everyone. He was the one who saved us.
“The fire alarm was not working but there was thick smoke covering the floor in the corridor. I covered my face with my jacket but I still breathed in smoke and it made me choke. The smoke was coming physically from the walls.”
Residents of the flats have complained about the time it has taken to clear up their homes after the blaze.
Ms Wiszniowska was so worried about the effect soot from the blaze would have on her baby’s health she spent Wednesday night in a hotel.
Casino bar manager Lee Bulmer, 36, who has been living in the block for two years, said: “It’s taken the landlord such a long time to get it sorted. Every single surface is coated in black. Who knows what toxins are in the atmosphere.”
The owner of the flats, Highland Investments, based in Holloway Road, promised to reimburse residents for cleaning and accommodation costs. Spokesman Peter Baker said: “Our hands were tied because we’ve been waiting for the insurers to see the premises.”
Residents have complained in the past to Islington Council about rubbish left outside the storage area of pub where the fire started.
The pub’s new licensee, Tony Collins, who took over in February, said: “The previous owners weren’t buying bags from the council and were leaving their rubbish to store up every week. There are lots of problems and I’m resolving them one at a time.”
A London Fire Brigade spokesman confirmed that the cause of the fire is under investigation.
He added: “When crews arrived at the scene it became apparent we could confine the fire to the basement and we managed to stop the fire spreading to surrounding properties.
“Around 10 people left the building before the brigade arrived and as a precautionary measure we also began to evacuate a number of people from the building’s second and third floors.”
Detectives want to interview a white, stocky, 40-year-old man wearing a grey hooded top with two red stripes down either side of the chest.
Police are appealing for witnesses who might have seen him prior to the fire or leaving soon after to call Islington police on 020 7421 0350.

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