Three people have been hospitalised after an apartment block fire left residents ‘running out screaming’ and ‘covered in soot’ — while one reportedly jumped from a first-floor window to escape.
Fire crews and ambulances were scrambled to Lincoln Gate, on Red Bank in Manchester city centre, at 1.45am this morning. The blaze began in a kitchen on the building’s first floor, a spokesperson for the fire service confirmed.
They added that five fire engines were sent to the inferno, with four people being rescued. Three were hospitalised, while another was assessed by paramedics at the scene.
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One resident who contacted the Manchester Evening News about the blaze said residents were 'screaming' in the early hours. The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I saw the fire engines pull up and they could not get in. I had to open the gate myself with my fob. Girls were running out screaming, covered in soot.
“My whole apartment became covered up in soot because it’s an old vent system and it’s pumping in soot. I, at my own discretion, left at 3am.
“I had to keep opening the gates and eventually [emergency workers] jammed it open. The [fire service] were here in four minutes, but they told us to stay put. Even if it was one or two apartments, we should be told.
“The first responder, an employee, was not told. We were not told. He is the health and safety guy and he came after the fact.”
The woman has also expressed her fears that the situation in the building, run by Premiere Estates, could have been fatal. She continued: “I have not been able to sleep. I had flames coming into my third floor. The neighbour of the fire on the first floor could not get out and he jumped out. They would have been collecting corpses otherwise. Do they want another Grenfell?”
Other residents the MEN spoke to at the scene who lived higher up in the Green Quarter block said they were ‘unaware’ of the fire, but had noticed a strong ‘burning smell’ travelling down the building. It has now been confirmed by the North West Ambulance Service that ‘three patients were transported to hospital with another assessed and discharged on scene’.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service (GMFRS) added: “At around 1.45am this morning (Monday 3 October) we were called to reports of a fire at a high rise residential property on Red Bank in Manchester, involving the kitchen of a first-floor flat.
“Five fire engines and an aerial ladder platform were quickly mobilised to the scene, and firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used a hose reel and other equipment to tackle the flames and clear smoke from the area.
“Crews rescued four people from the building and led them to safety, and administered oxygen therapy to a further two who had self-rescued prior to our arrival. GMFRS crews were in attendance for around three and a half hours.”
Premiere Estates have been contacted for comment.
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