A one-year-old baby was among 10 people rescued from a fire in a block of flats in Carnhill in Derry this morning.
Laurence Cook.
The blaze, which broke out just 6.00am this morning, is believed to have been started deliberately.
Firefighters rescued six people, including a family with a one year old boy, who had become trapped.
Fire crews, using breathing apparatus, entered the block of flats and brought the family to safety.
Several other people, who were also trapped, were rescued from their flat windows while another four were able to make their own way to safety.
One of those rescued, Laurence Cook (53), told how he thought he would not get out of the building after becoming trapped.
He said: “I was awoken by the smoke alarm in my flat and initially I thought it was a problem in my flat. When I realised it was not, I opened the door to the communal stairwell but it was filled with thick black smoke.
“I was unable to breathe so I went back into the flat and went to the window from where I called to a neighbour to get a ladder, but there was none. At one stage I thought I would have to jump.
“I stayed at the window and when the firefighters came about five minutes later, the came into the building wearing breathing apparatus and told me to stay at the window from where I was rescued by a ladder.”
Fire chief Trevor Russell said the residents of the flats had a “lucky escape.”
He said it appeared the fire may have been started deliberately and said he could not understand the “mindset” of those responsible.
It is believed a large rug was set on fire in the stairwell of the building.
A police forensic team is carrying out an examination of the scene.
Tags:
