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Students rescued from flat fire

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Three students were rescued from the top floor of a three-storey building after finding themselves trapped inside the burning property. Firefighters used ladders to scale the town house in Highfields, Leicester, and had to break through a window before plucking the occupants to safety. Two people were taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation after the blaze, which broke out in the early hours of yesterday morning. Emergency services were called to Evington Street at just after 3.30am. A fire service spokesman said: "Initially, just two pumps were sent but they immediately put in a call for extra assistance and two further pumps were sent. "Persons were reported trapped inside the property, which is divided into separate flats. "Three people were rescued by firefighters from the upper floor using a 9m ladder." Firefighters used breathing gear to enter the property and search the remaining flats. "Three ground floor residents had managed to flee and were already accounted for on the fire service's arrival," said the spokesman. East Midlands Ambulance Service dispatched several ambulances and medical support vehicles to the scene. A spokeswoman said: "Our emergency medical dispatchers sent several resources in response. "They included highly skilled clinicians in fast response cars and ambulances. "The first arrived on scene within five minutes of the call being picked up in our control. "Our control also dispatched members of our hazardous area response team and Dr Matt Woods from the East Midlands Immediate Care Scheme. "Two people were taken by ambulance to the Leicester Royal Infirmary with smoke inhalation. "We don't have further details on their condition." The fire service spokesman said the fire started in the kitchen of a ground floor flat, which was gutted in the blaze. "The cause is believed to be a faulty fridge within the ground floor flat," he said, adding that the fire itself was contained in the ground floor flat. "There is extensive damage by fire, heat and smoke to the flat and smoke and heat damage to the remainder of the property," he said. The fire was extinguished and damping down completed by 4.48pm when fire control received a stop message from the crews. Leicestershire Fire Service's Red Cross emergency support service attended to scene to offer comfort and support to the building's occupants. At 8am residents gathered in the street as the clean-up operation got under way. One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "I'm just glad no-one was badly hurt." Another said: "I slept through the whole thing. It looks a pretty big mess." The landlord of the property, who did not want to be named, said: "Fortunately, no-one was seriously hurt. "When I arrived just before 4am the students were a bit shaken but quite calm. "The fire brigade did a great job in attending very quickly and containing the fire in a safe and proper manner." He said temporary accommodation had been found for his tenants.

Students rescued from flat fire


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