Huge fire engulfs student accomodation in Bolton, Greater Manchester

This happened right near to where I live...

Bolton fire: Crews tackle huge blaze at student flats


BBC News
16 November 2019


Firefighters are tackling the blaze at The Cube in Bolton

Firefighters have been tackling a huge blaze at a university student accommodation block.

Crowds of students were evacuated from The Cube in Bolton when the fire broke out at about 20:30 GMT on Friday.

At its height about 200 firefighters from 40 fire engines were tackling the blaze which was affecting every floor.

A witness said the fire was "climbing up" the six-storey building. One person was rescued by crews using an aerial platform.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said two people were treated by paramedics at the scene.

It said six fire engines remained at the scene at 05:30 as firefighters "tackle the last few pockets of fire".

Area manager Jim Hutton said "hardworking firefighters" had prevented the fire from spreading to an adjacent building.

"Our crews have done a fantastic job bringing this fire under control, in what have been very challenging circumstances," added Assistant Chief Fire Officer Tony Hunter.

One witness said the fire was "climbing up" the building


University of Bolton student Shannon Parker, who lives in the building, said she was in her room when the fire started.

"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," the 22-year-old said.

"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."

She said she was being relocated to either a nearby hotel or another student accommodation building.


Police have closed a number of roads in the area


GMFRS has asked residents of The Cube to register at Orlando Village Student Accommodation and contact family members to let them know they are safe.

The University of Bolton said it was supporting students who had been evacuated and had given people temporary accommodation at the Orlando student halls and in some hotels.

Prof George E Holmes DL, president and vice-chancellor of the university, said: "University colleagues have worked through the night to make sure support is in place for students over the weekend.

"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."

He said The Cube was not owned by the University of Bolton and that it was owned and managed by a private landlord.



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.

"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."








Videos posted on social media show debris falling from the building and firefighters tackling flames coming out of the windows on the top floors.

One student tweeted to say she had to leave her belongings and added: "But the main thing is I'm out and I'm safe."

Greater Manchester Police said a number of road closures were in place.


Firefighters are using aerial appliances to tackle the blaze

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-50438177

Wise said:

Hope nobody was parked illegally in the fire lane.

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The what?

The Cube, and that other large building facing the street in front of it, stand on the spot where the ABC Cinema and Laser Quest (like paintball but with laser guns) once stood. The building housing those two closed in 1998 and demolished in 2006, making way for those two buildings to be built.

I remember going to the ABC countless times as a kid.

The Prime Minister visited.

Bolton flats blaze: Student flats' cladding 'a concern'


16 November 2019
BBC News


Firefighters have extinguished the blaze at The Cube in Bolton


Cladding on a block of student flats that was hit by a major blaze is a cause for "concern", Greater Manchester's mayor has said.

Two people were hurt when about 100 residents fled The Cube in Bolton after a blaze on Friday.

Mayor Andy Burnham said its cladding was not the same as at Grenfell Tower, where 72 people died in 2017.

But cladding is a "bigger issue... than we have so far faced up to," Mr Burnham admitted.

Residents of The Cube were also confused as to whether there was actually a fire in the building on Friday because, as one said, fire alarms go off "almost every day".


Urban Student Life (USL), which manages the property, said all residents were successfully evacuated after the blaze broke out at about 20:30 GMT on Friday.

In a statement, they said two students were treated for "minor injuries" on site, where up to 200 firefighters tackled the blaze.


One witness said the fire was "climbing up" the building


Assistant chief fire officer Dave Keelan, of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: "The fire... really did spread very quickly and that was evident to see on the footage that's on social media."

He said an investigation had been launched into the blaze.

'Industrial crisis'

Mr Burnham said: "[The Cube] does not have the same ACM cladding [that was on Grenfell Tower] but nevertheless it does have a form of cladding that causes concern and raises issues that will have to be addressed."

He said he would talk to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited the Bolton site earlier, about whether "we need to go further to remove cladding from these buildings and give families peace of mind".

Salford mayor Paul Dennett said he would be asking the government for more money to remove flammable cladding, adding there was "an industrial crisis" around the issue.

Roy Wilsher, chief of the National Fire Chiefs Council, said the fire "once again highlights how changes to building regulations need to be moved on at a much quicker pace".


The fire has led to damage on all floors of the six-storey building


On the issue of the fire alarms, resident Afnan Gohar said she thought it was a "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," she said.





Melissa McGarrigle said: "The fire alarms in the corridor went off but they aren't particularly loud, especially if you're asleep.

"It just doesn't feel real, everyone thought it was just the fire alarms acting up as usual until we heard people screaming."


The fire started on the fourth floor, the property management firm said


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.

"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."


About 200 firefighters tackled the blaze


Eva Crossan Jory, vice president of welfare for the National Union of Students (NUS), said it had been "calling for a number of improvements in fire-safety measures in student accommodation" across the UK.

"It shouldn't take another fire to put the issue of building safety back on the agenda," she said.

"Student safety must always be the first priority for accommodation providers and the government."


In 2016, Urban Student Life (USL) was criticised in a tribunal ruling for not providing clear written guidelines on fire safety procedures or displaying fire safety notices in one of its student accommodation blocks in Leeds.

Leeds City Council sent in fire authority officers to inspect the building, who declared at the time it was not fit for use.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), said the latest fire was "deeply troubling".

"This is not how any building should react to a fire in the 21st century, let alone a building in which people live," he said.

"It's time for a complete overhaul of UK fire safety before it's too late."


Prime Minister Boris Johnson met people helping residents after the fire in Bolton




Les Skarratts, of the FBU in the north-west, said there would be "hard lessons to learn as the circumstances become clearer in the coming days".

Forty fire engines were called to the scene of the blaze, which affected every floor.

Prof George E Holmes, vice-chancellor of the University of Bolton, whose students live at the block, said: "I can't say enough about how pleased we were with the response - it's been amazing from all emergency services."

Football fans attending Bolton Wanderers' match were asked to donate items for evacuated residents.






The university said it was supporting students, who are being offered temporary accommodation in other student halls and in some hotels.

GMFRS has asked residents who are not yet accounted for to contact authorities to let them know they are safe.

Mr Keelan added a team has "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."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-50445311

Bolton fire: 'Not everyone' accounted for as students urged to get in touch with loved ones

'Our crews have done a fantastic job bringing this fire under control, in what have been very challenging circumstances'

By Simon Smith
16 NOV 2019
Manchester Evening News


Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has said 'not everyone' is accounted for after a devastating fire destroyed a student building in Bolton.

Residents of The Cube in Bolton are being asked to go to Orlando Village student accommodation and contact their loved ones to let them know they are safe.

The call comes as firefighters remain at the scene of the major fire at the student apartment block on Bradshawgate close to the town centre.

Mr Burnham said in a tweet this morning: "Last night, Manchester Fire implemented one of their own learnings from Grenfell by sending a 2nd command team to deal explicitly with the evacuation.

"Most people have been accounted for but not everyone & investigations are ongoing. "




https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...s/bolton-fire-not-everyone-accounted-17267448

Curious Cdn said:

We'll have to smuggle the secret of automatic sprinklers into Britain. They won't believe it.

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It goes without saying that the automatic sprinkler system, like most other things, was invented by a Brit: Ambrose Godfrey.

The world's first automatic sprinkler system was installed in London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in 1812.

Curious Cdn said:

but you don't seem to use them.

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Neither do you.

I've just walked past it a few minutes ago and taken a look.

It looks just like you see it in the images - only in 3D.