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Bolton flats blaze: Students 'confused as alarms go off daily' | Bolton flats blaze: Students 'confused as alarms go off daily' |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A row has broken out over fire alarms after a major blaze forced the evacuation of hundreds of students. | A row has broken out over fire alarms after a major blaze forced the evacuation of hundreds of students. |
Residents fled The Cube in Bolton after the fire on Friday, which was tackled by up to 200 firefighters for more than nine hours. | |
Two people were treated at the scene, including one who was rescued by crews using an aerial platform, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue said. | |
One resident said many were confused as fire alarms go off "almost every day". | One resident said many were confused as fire alarms go off "almost every day". |
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Dave Keelan said: "The fire... really did spread very quickly and that was evident to see on the footage that's on social media." | |
He confirmed the "cladding on this building was not the same as that on Grenfell", which was destroyed by a fire that killed 72 people in 2017. | |
Prof George E Holmes, vice-chancellor of the University of Bolton, whose students live at the block, said "very minor injuries" had been reported. | |
"I can't say enough about how pleased we were with the response - it's been amazing from all emergency services," he said. | |
He said the Cube is not owned by the university but owned and managed by a private landlord, who has not yet commented. | |
Resident Afnan Gohar said: "The fire alarms go off almost every day so we just thought this was just another false alarm. | |
"We didn't take notice of it until a girl came running and screamed, telling us to get out and we didn't believe it at first." | "We didn't take notice of it until a girl came running and screamed, telling us to get out and we didn't believe it at first." |
Shannon Parker, who also lives in the building, said: "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 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 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." |
Other students posted on social media that they had not heard the fire alarms in their part of the building. | |
Witness Ace Love, 35, said the fire "kept getting more intense, climbing up and to the right because the wind was blowing so hard". | Witness 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," he added. | "We could see it bubbling from the outside and then being engulfed from the outside," he added. |
"A lot of students got out very fast, someone was very distressed, the rest were on phones calling for help. | "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 fire got worse and worse, to the point where you could see through the beams, it was just bare frame." |
The University of Bolton said it was supporting students and was offering temporary accommodation and provisions at other student halls and in some hotels. | |
Forty fire engines were called to the scene of the blaze, which affected every floor after breaking out at about 20:30 GMT. | |
GMFRS has asked unaccounted residents to contact authorities to let them know they are safe. | |
Videos on social media showed debris falling from the building and firefighters tackling flames coming out of the windows on the top floors. | |
Mr Keelan added a fire service team have "concentrated purely on the high-rises across Greater Manchester to make sure that we learn from Grenfell". | |
"The evacuation procedure and subsequent training - and putting it into practice last night - has paid absolute dividends," he told a press conference. | |
"We are going to continue to be here throughout the day and working very closely with the building owner to move this forward in the coming days." |