Face of Nation : The actions of an incident commander, first at the scene of a blaze at a retirement complex, “undoubtedly saved lives”, a fire chief has said. About 150 residents were evacuated from the Beechmere residential apartments in Crewe when the fire took hold on Thursday afternoon.
Fire investigators are to examine how the blaze, which started in a roof, was able to spread so rapidly. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was not thought to have been arson.
Lee Shears, head of protection with the fire service, said: “From speaking to the incident commander first at the scene, it’s clear that the fire wasn’t behaving in the way that we would expect, and I must praise his swift and decisive actions in ordering the immediate evacuation of residents.
Assistant chief fire officer Gus O’Rourke said the incident commander was able to override a “stay put” policy at the premises, which would have required residents to remain in their apartments and be evacuated on a phased basis. He said: “I must also praise the staff at Beechmere and neighbouring residents. “They should be truly proud of themselves.”
Avantage Cheshire Limited, which runs the complex, said it was “devastated” by the fire and relieved everyone on site was safely evacuated. Mr Shears added that the section of the building that remained intact would be “crucial” in helping investigators establish what happened.
