Man ‘jumps to safety’ from burning tower block
A man has been raced to hospital after jumping to safety from a flat fire inside an Edgbaston tower block. Several fire crews and paramedics descended on the scene[1] on Tuesday morning, October 3, after the blaze broke out in Montreal House in Benmore Avenue.
As the flames told hold of a flat on the third floor, a man was believed to have jumped from the window before he received medical care from firefighters and paramedics. A spokesperson for West Midlands Fire Service said: "Ten fire crews have responded to a fire in a flat on the third floor of a high-rise building in Edgbaston.
"The fire is now out. We started to receive 999 calls at 7.52am today, October 3, to Montreal House, Benmore Avenue. Our first crew arrived within three minutes of being mobilised to the 12-storey building.
"Firefighters and paramedics gave medical care to a man who is believed to have jumped to safety from a window. He has been taken to hospital. Fire affected half of the flat in which it broke out, although the whole flat and third-floor lobby area were affected by smoke."
Videos, circulated on social media, showed grey smoke billowing from the building as firefighters tackled the blaze. One resident told BirminghamLive: "About 7.30am, I smelt smoke and saw it coming into my bedroom.
"I got dressed quickly and got out. The fire brigade were here, they came quickly.”
Another added: "The neighbour was knocking the door and said there was a fire. There was smoke on the landing.
"We got dressed quickly and got out. Some people were outside, some still in the block. The police have spoken to us - we are waiting to hear what happens next."
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References
- ^ fire crews and paramedics descended on the scene (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Edgbaston tower block fire live as smoke billows near city centre (www.birminghammail.co.uk)