Fire crews wearing breathing apparatus rescued three people from a flat fire on Allenby Road in Thamesmead last night (Sunday 24 April).
Two men were rescued from the second floor flat where the fire started, and a woman was led to safety via an internal staircase from an adjacent flat on the same floor. They were all suffering from smoke inhalation, and were treated at the scene by London Ambulance Service.
The affected flat in the three storey block was left damaged by the fire which is believed to have been caused when cooking was left unattended on a stove. Thankfully there were smoke alarms in the flat that sounded, prompting a neighbour to call the Brigade.
Plumstead fire station Watch Manager Steven McKeown said: “You should never leave cooking unattended – if you have to leave the room or the house, turn the heat off.
“In most of the cooking incidents we attend smoke alarms alert someone to call the Brigade and thankfully they were fitted in this case. Everyone should have at least one smoke alarm on every level of their home and the safest option is to have those linked together. This will give the earliest warning if there is a fire and give you vital seconds to escape and call 999.”
Following the incident crews spent time giving fire safety advice to residents in the area. “We gave all the residents in the block fire safety advice, and fitted additional smoke alarms where they were required,” said Watch Manager McKeown.
Two fire engines and 10 firefighters and officers from Plumstead and East Greenwich fire stations attended the scene.
The Brigade was called at 2331 on Sunday night and the fire was under control by 0034 on Monday morning