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97-year-old
dies in blaze
Neighbours battle flames and
fumes in brave bid to save pensioner
NEIGHBOURS of a 97- year-old man who died in a fire
tragedy at his Camden Town home have told how they fought flames
and poisonous smoke in a desperate rescue attempt.
Hubert Adams, who remained “fiercely independent”
despite needing the aid of two sticks to walk, was trapped in
a blaze at his flat in Cantelowes Road on Sunday night.
Fire fighters from Kentish Town and Holloway pulled him out
of the burning building at around 8pm but he died in hospital
shortly afterwards. An investigation into the cause of the inferno
is expected to confirm that it was sparked accidentally. Neighbours
said that Mr Adams had previously lit fires in an open fireplace
in his room despite being warned against it although this has
not been confirmed as the cause. An inquest into his death was
opened and adjourned at St Pancras Coroner’s Court on Tuesday.
A bid to save Mr Adams’s life ended in heartbreak for residents
of the block, who covered their faces in wet towels and tried
to battle through the thick smokes themselves.
Pierre Buguet, who lives in a separate flat in the privately-rented
block, said: “I went up four times but I had to turn back.
The first time I heard Mr Adams cry out for help but I could
not see him. I went back in and crawled into the room a little
but I could not see him. You feel powerless in that situation.”
Mr Buguet left the building with his face covered in soot and
paramedics gave him aid on the street.
He added: “In a situation like that you are trying to save
somebody’s life but you have to think of the danger. The
smoke is so acrid.”
Another neighbour, Thierry Montavon, who lives on the top floor,
said he had hatched an escape plan in case of fire.
Although he did not have to use his unusual escape on Sunday
night, Mr Montavon said that he had hooked ropes to his window
that would allow him to abseil to safety.
He added: “There was a fire a couple of years ago here
and I thought of a way to get out if it happened again.”
Mr Adams – a former clerk in Camden Council’s housing
department – is thought to have lived in the flat for nearly
60 years. |
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