RESIDENTS were evacuated from their homes wearing just their pyjamas after a fire ripped through a block of flats in Bournemouth.

Emergency services rushed to Old Christchurch Road at 9.30am on Tuesday after a fire broke out at Sharkey's Sports Bar and quickly rose to the flats above.

In Pictures: the fire at Sharkey's >>>

Bournemouth Echo:

Picture by Vasil Shotarov

Firefighters had started to wind up just before 11am when one of the half-dozen residents saw smoke rising again from the flats above The George Tapps building - formerly the Litten Tree.

Crews of firemen and women scrambled back to their engines, and more called from other stations, to help tackle the large fire which soon engulfed most of the building.

Business-owners, residents and employees of the pub and the Eye of the Tiger restaurant stood, some in slippers, watching on in horror.

Police initially cordoned off the road at the top end of Stafford Road and Lansdowne roundabout but extended the cordon to the bottom end of Wooton Mount, diverting both vehicles and pedestrians away from the scene.

Bournemouth Echo:

As black smoke billowed from windows, business staff opposite were asked to stay indoors as firefighters set up the cherry picker and lifted the entire engine with four large feet.

They soon started blasting the top floor with their jets using water from the mains.

Incident commander Karen Adams said seven appliances and an aerial platform were sent to the scene over the four hour period.

"It's spread from Sharkey's pool hall into the flats above up on the first floor," she said. "We think some underground fire spread. It's like a rabbit warren down there, some of it is disused and it's a big old building.

"It was an intensely hot fire, really hard working conditions," she added. "The ventilation was very restricted so, to make it quite clear and to get it aired, it was very difficult as some of the windows had been painted shut."

Bournemouth Echo:

She said she was hopeful investigators would find out more about how the fire started during their examination of the property.

Linda Tramontini, manager of the Red Cross charity shop, handed out blankets to residents and offered them cups of tea as they stood looking on as their flat was "gutted".

"I turned up and saw a fire engine coming down here and a gentleman came out shouting 'it's at the back! It's at the back'.

"We couldn't see where it was coming from and it just got worse.

"The smoke was black coming out. I just felt really sorry for the young couple here. It's all we can do is be here to help them really."

Evacuated residents Chris Gerdvilis and Joanna Rebrobaide, who have lived in their flat for two years, could be seen comforting one another as they huddled with their borrowed blankets.

"Someone knocked the door," Chris said. "We opened the door and could smell that smell and I told Joanna to wake up.

"We went to the hall and it was full of smoke so we left another way and called 999.

"It's such a shame."

Note: this story has been updated to correct the location.