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Bolton fire: two injured in large blaze at student building Investigation under way into blaze at Bolton student building
(about 3 hours later)
Witnesses describe flames ‘crawling up cladding’ of six-storey building on Bradshawgate Two people injured as witnesses saw flames ‘crawl up cladding’ of block on Bradshawgate
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. An investigation is under way into the cause of a large fire at a student accommodation block, which spread “extremely rapidly” to the upper floors of the building.
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”. There is rising concern that the cladding on the building may have contributed to the blaze in Bolton, which led to two people being injured. The top floor of the Cube, which houses students from the University of Bolton, was gutted and the fourth and fifth floors of the six-storey building were visibly damaged.
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. Firefighters worked to extinguish the fire from about 8.30pm on Friday, with one witness describing the fire as “crawl[ing] up the cladding like it was nothing” as witnesses said the blaze exposed the frame of the building.
Crews remained at the scene on Saturday morning to put out the “last few fighting pockets of fire” in the evacuated building. 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. Efforts to account for all of the residents are continuing and crews remained at the evacuated building on Saturday morning.
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.
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.“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.”
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). Colette Wiseman, who lives opposite the block, said she heard shouting outside and saw smoke at the top of the building before flames came out of the window within minutes as the fire grew “like crazy”.
“I don’t even know how to explain it,” she told the Guardian. “It spread so rapidly.”
There are also reports that the fire alarms in some of the flats were not loud enough, while other students confirmed they go off almost every day – leading to confusion this morning over whether it was a drill or a false alarm.
Lauren Cobb, 19, a special make-up effects student at the university, said: “I heard the alarm go off, however it goes off pretty much every day and everyone kind of got used to it. I assumed it would stop soon and it didn’t. My flatmate was the one who actually started to bang on my door and told me this fire was real.”
Greater Manchester fire and rescue service assistant chief fire officer Dave Keelan would not be drawn on how and where it started, but confirmed the building was not clad in the same material as Grenfell Tower. However, he said it was evident from footage on social media that the fire developed “exponentially”.
“We need to review this, we need to do the fire investigation with other agencies and we need to look at what we need to do in the future and how we can learn,” Keelan said.
Authorities have asked anyone who was living at or visiting the Cube to register at the nearby Orlando Village student hall of residence. Road closures remain in place around the area.
Urban Student Life, the company that runs the student accommodation, which was previously operated by Digs 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.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. Prof George E Holmes, the president and vice-chancellor of the University of Bolton, said: “Supporting the welfare of our students is our number one 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.”
“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. Road closures remain in place around the area.
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.”
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.”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.”
“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.” Eva Crossan Jory, the NUS vice-president responsible for welfare, said: “It’s devastating that students have had to experience this shocking situation, we commend the fire brigade on bringing the fire under control so swiftly and other emergency services treating those injured.
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.” “NUS has been calling for a number of improvements in fire-safety measures in student accommodation, and while this building doesn’t appear to have used the same cladding as Grenfell, we also don’t know what role it might have played in this fire. It shouldn’t take another fire to put the issue of building safety back on the agenda. Student safety must always be the first priority for accommodation providers and the government.”