Niamh Lynch
Sky NewsFri, 01 Mar 2024 16:06 UTC
© X/@emergencytimesFifteen fire engines were called and 100 firefighters were deployed to douse the fire at London’s South Kensington.
were called to a blaze at a terraced house in Kensington, west London on Friday morning.
Five people were rescued from the first, second, and fourth floors of the building, with 11 people taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation.
Half of the ground floor of the five-storey building, which has been converted into flats, was still alight at around 2.20am on Friday - almost two hours after fire brigades were called.
Fifteen people escaped from the property on Emperor's Gate, south Kensington, before help arrived - with 130 residents evacuated in total.
Fire crews from Kensington, Fulham, Battersea, Hammersmith and Chelsea also fought the blaze, which was brought under control by 4.40am.
The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.
London Fire Brigade's Steve Collins said at the scene:
"The fire spread from the ground floor to the top floor and roof of the property. Crews worked extremely hard to contain it and prevent the blaze spreading to adjacent buildings.
"Road closures are in place and likely to remain well into the morning rush hour so motorists are advised to avoid the area. However, there is no impact on rail services and they will be running as normal."
Comment: Also
yesterday in London, the
Daily Mail reports:
Shocking moment man ON FIRE runs down London street
This is the shocking moment a man on fire runs down a street in London before bystanders help put the flames out.
Footage which has emerged online shows the man shouting as he runs down a street in Edgware Road with bright orange flames on his chest area.
This is the shocking moment a man on fire runs down a street in London
Ambulance crews said they rushed to the scene last night before taking the man to a major trauma centre.
Police have confirmed the incident is not being treated as suspicious.
Meanwhile in the last 2 days over in Germany and Poland:
Regarding the apartment block fires elsewhere, whilst they may not all be connected, it seems worth documenting given their proximity in terms of timing, and because they were particularly deadly:
On the 24th of February,
The Guardian reported:
Apartment block fire in China's Nanjing city kills at least 15
The blaze started on the first floor where electric bikes had been placed, according to officials, but the cause is still unknown
At least 15 people were killed and 44 injured in a fire at a residential building in eastern China's Nanjing city, local authorities said.
© Costfoto/NurPhoto/REX/ShutterstockThe scene after a fire was extinguished in a residential area in Nanjing, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province.
By 6am (2200 GMT) the fire had been extinguished, and a search-and-rescue operation ended about 2pm Friday, authorities said.
The 44 injured people were sent to hospital for treatment, they added.
China has seen a spate of deadly fires in recent months, prompting calls from President Xi Jinping last month for "deep reflection" and greater efforts to "curb the frequent occurrence of safety accidents".
In January dozens died after a fire broke out at a store in the central city of Xinyu, with state news agency Xinhua reporting the blaze had been caused by the use of fire by workers in the store's basement.
That fire came just days after a late-evening blaze at a school in central China's Henan province killed 13 schoolchildren as they slept in a dormitory.
A teacher at the school told the state-run Hebei Daily that all the victims were from the same third-grade class of nine- and 10-year-olds.
Domestic media reports suggested the fire was caused by an electric heating device.
In November, 26 people were killed and dozens sent to hospital after a fire at a coal company office in northern China's Shanxi province.
The month before, an explosion at a barbecue restaurant in the north-west of the country left 31 dead and prompted official pledges of a nationwide campaign to promote workplace safety.
In April, a hospital fire in Beijing killed 29 people and forced desperate survivors to jump out of windows to escape.
A day prior, on the 23rd of February,
Mainichi reported:
Fire engulfs 2 buildings in Spain, killing at least 4 people. Nearly 20 missing
A fire engulfed two residential buildings in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia on Thursday, killing four people and leaving 19 others missing hours after the blaze started, authorities said.
The fire sent fleeing residents onto balconies where some were rescued by firefighters, officials said.
© AP Photo/Alberto SaizA housing block burns in Valencia, Spain, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
Valencia's assisetant emergency services director, Jorge Suarez told reporters that four people were confirmed dead and that some six hours hours after the blaze started firefighters were trying to cool down the outside of the building before attempting to go inside.
Soldiers from Spain's Military Emergency Unit also were deployed and medics set up a large tent to tend to the injured on the scene.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but news reports said it might have spread rapidly owing to materials used in the building's structure.
The fire sent clouds of black smoke billowing skyward that could be seen from afar. Spain's weather agency, Aemet, reported winds of up to 60 kph (40 mph) at the time.
The fire began in the early evening and spread to an adjacent building, state news agency Efe reported. Emergency service reports said that besides the four people killed, at least 13 were injured, most with fractures, burns and smoke inhalation. The 13 included six firefighters.
It was not immediately clear how many people were in the buildings or how many were rescued.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez posted a tweet on the X platform saying he was "shocked by the terrible fire in a building in Valencia," adding that he had offered the city "all the help that is necessary."
"I want to convey my solidarity to all the people affected and recognition to all the emergency personnel already deployed at the scene," Sanchez said.
It seems that scarcely a week goes by at the moment without a building, but, more often, a factory, exploding or bursting into flames:
Comment: Also yesterday in London, the Daily Mail reports: Meanwhile in the last 2 days over in Germany and Poland:
- Car ploughs into crowd in Poland leaving 17 people injured including children
- Germany: 4 shot dead overnight, soldier turns himself in; high school stabbing, 2 seriously injured
Regarding the apartment block fires elsewhere, whilst they may not all be connected, it seems worth documenting given their proximity in terms of timing, and because they were particularly deadly:On the 24th of February, The Guardian reported: A day prior, on the 23rd of February, Mainichi reported: It seems that scarcely a week goes by at the moment without a building, but, more often, a factory, exploding or bursting into flames: