Guernsey Press

Flat fire in middle of night

FIREFIGHTERS spent the early hours of Saturday morning in St Sampson's dealing with a structural fire in a block of flats.

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Fire at Rondhurst Court, Ronde Cheminee, St Sampson's, just after midnight on Saturday 25 January. (26996983)

At 36 minutes past midnight on 25 January, a 999 call was received from a resident in Rondhurst Court flats in Ronde Cheminee, St Sampson's, about a fire in one of the first-floor flats.

Guernsey Police arrived with colleagues from the Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service arriving shorty afterwards.

PC Steve Gilman said when he arrived on the scene there was a bit of smoke coming from the first floor or the building.

'We started evacuating residents and firefighters came soon after and dealt with the main fire.

'Around 20 residents were already outside and we evacuated a further four more,' he said.

'It was an isolated incident that we believe was accidental.'

Fire at Rondhurst Court, Ronde Cheminee, St Sampson's, just after midnight on Saturday 25 January. (26988068)

Watch commander Matt Roger echoed that upon arrival smoke was issuing out of a flat on the first floor.

'Police were assisting with the evacuation of residents and firefighters entered the building and extinguished a small appliance fire in the kitchen of one of the flats on the first floor.'

Luckily, the fire was contained to the kitchen and did not spread throughout the building.

However, firefighters had to use fans to ventilate the building as the smoke had spread and the resident of the flat was taken to hospital by the emergency ambulance service to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Mr Roger said: 'The smoke managed to spread along the floor and to the flats above but residents were allowed back into their flats at around 1.30am.'

He liaised with the on-site caretaker and the property management agent to ensure the building was safe.