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Bolton fire: two injured in large blaze at student building Bolton fire: two injured in large blaze at student building
(about 2 hours later)
Witnesses describe flames ‘crawling up cladding’ of six-storey building on BradshawgateWitnesses describe flames ‘crawling up cladding’ of six-storey building on Bradshawgate
Two people have been injured in a large fire at a student accommodation building in Bolton. Two people have been injured in a large fire at a student accommodation building in Bolton amid rising concern that the cladding on the building may have contributed to the blaze.
Images posted on social media showed firefighters tackling the blaze on the top floors of a six-storey building known as the Cube on Bradshawgate at about 8.30pm on Friday. Firefighters worked to extinguish the fire on the top floors of a six-storey building known as the Cube on Bradshawgate from about 8.30pm on Friday, with one witness describing the fire as “crawl[ing] up the cladding like it was nothing”.
Greater Manchester fire and rescue service (GMFRS) confirmed paramedics had treated two people at the scene, including one person rescued by crews via an aerial platform. Paramedics treated two people at the scene, including one person rescued by crews via an aerial platform, as about 200 firefighters and 40 fire engines worked to tackle the blaze at its height.
A spokesman said more than 40 fire engines were still at the scene on Saturday morning tackling “the last few fighting pockets of fire” in the building, which had been evacuated. Crews remained at the scene on Saturday morning to put out the “last few fighting pockets of fire” in the evacuated building.
One witness described the fire as “crawl[ing] up the cladding like it was nothing”. Students at the Cube had been visited by fire safety officers following the Grenfell Tower fire and assured that the building was not clad in the same material, the Bolton News reported.
Ace Love, 35, said: “The fire kept getting more intense, climbing up and to the right because the wind was blowing so hard. We could see it bubbling from the outside and then being engulfed from the outside. However, the planned cladding materials on one part of the facade included aluminium composite panels (ACM) or fibre cement panels, and high pressure laminated panels (HPL) fixed to timber battens on another, according to drawings submitted by RADM Architects to Bolton’s planning department in 2014. It is not yet clear which of these materials were used.
ACM panels are filled with polyethylene, which, as at Grenfell, can be highly combustible or can contain a fire retardant to make them safer. HPL panels, made of compressed paper or wood fibre, also come with different combustibility ratings.
In July, the government’s expert panel on fire safety called on building owners to remove types of the material that did not adequately resist the spread of fire on buildings over 18 storeys.
Videos on social media appeared to show the fire rapidly spreading up the facade of the Cube, and witnesses said the blaze exposed the frame of the building.
“The fire kept getting more intense, climbing up and to the right because the wind was blowing so hard,” Ace Love, 35, said. “We could see it bubbling from the outside and then being engulfed from the outside.
“A lot of students got out very fast, someone was very distressed, the rest were on phones calling for help. The fire got worse and worse, to the point where you could see through the beams, it was just bare frame.”“A lot of students got out very fast, someone was very distressed, the rest were on phones calling for help. The fire got worse and worse, to the point where you could see through the beams, it was just bare frame.”
The University of Bolton student Shannon Parker, 22, who lives in the building, told PA Media: “I was in my room whilst it was happening. I heard the fire alarm going off but it kept on going off so I just thought it was a drill at first until one of my flatmates shouted down the corridor that it was a real fire. Urban Student Life, the company that runs the student accommodation, which was previously operated by DIGS student accommodation following its conversion from offices in 2015, was suspended from a national code of providers in 2016 for a year after the opening of a new development in Leeds was held up by almost three months, according to the National Union of Students (NUS).
Students then faced significant delays in receiving rent refunds and, once the building was complete, no fire safety guidance was provided, the NUS said. Such suspensions are said to be extremely rare, and the tribunal rarely meets.
Shannon Parker, 22, a University of Bolton student who lives in the building, said: “I was in my room whilst it was happening. I heard the fire alarm going off but it kept on going off so I just thought it was a drill at first until one of my flatmates shouted down the corridor that it was a real fire.
“So I ran out of the flat as quickly as I could and I saw that it was one of the flats below mine and we went out by the fire exit.”“So I ran out of the flat as quickly as I could and I saw that it was one of the flats below mine and we went out by the fire exit.”
She said she was being relocated to either a nearby hotel or another student accommodation building. Authorities have asked anyone who was living at or visiting the Cube to register at the nearby Orlando Village student accommodation facility. She said she was being relocated to either a nearby hotel or another student accommodation building. Authorities have asked anyone who was living at or visiting the Cube to register at the nearby Orlando Village student accommodation facility. Road closures remain in place around the area.
“We have divided the fire itself into four sectors of firefighting, allowing us to target our efforts on particular hotspots,” the GMFRS area manager, Jim Hutton, said. “While the building does remain on fire, we are doing all we can to stay on top of this situation and soon extinguish the flames.” Prof George E Holmes DL, the president and vice-chancellor of the University of Bolton, said: “Supporting the welfare of our students is our No 1 priority and we have moved swiftly to assist in any way we can. University colleagues have worked through the night to make sure support is in place for students over the weekend.”
Road closures remain in place around the area. He added that students had been provided with temporary accommodation nearby in halls and hotels, along with necessities and food. “I would like to stress that the Cube is not owned by the University of Bolton. It is owned and managed by a private landlord and the students were not on our premises during this incident.”
Prof George E Holmes DL, the president and vice-chancellor of the University of Bolton, said: “Supporting the welfare of our students is our No 1 priority and we have moved swiftly to assist in any way we can. University colleagues have worked through the night to make sure support is in place for students over the weekend. “If reports are right that the cladding has contributed to this fire, then the government has serious questions to answer,” said John Healey, the shadow housing secretary. “As figures released this week show, two and a half years after the Grenfell Tower fire, thousands of tower block residents are still living in homes with deadly cladding. This should shame the Conservatives and they must now act to make all buildings safe.”
“We have assisted in ensuring students have been given temporary alternative accommodation at the Orlando student halls and in some Bolton hotels. We have also arranged to provide necessities such as toiletries for all students affected and are opening the university over the weekend so students can be supported. We will also provide food for them. Boris Johnson tweeted: “My thoughts are with all those affected by the serious fire in Bolton last night. Thank you to emergency services for your brave response. I have spoken with AFC Tony Hunter, who is in charge at the scene, and we are doing everything to ensure they have all the required support.”
“I would like to stress that the Cube is not owned by the University of Bolton. It is owned and managed by a private landlord and the students were not on our premises during this incident.”
The housing, communities and local government secretary, Robert Jenrick, tweeted to say officials were ready to offer assistance if required.
The incumbent Labour candidate for Bolton South East, Yasmin Qureshi, warned people to stay away from the area and said she would be in contact with the emergency services.
She said on Twitter: “There is an ongoing incident in Bolton town centre and the emergency services are asking people to stay away from the area for the time being. I will be liaising with the police and fire services to stay informed of developments.”