Fire service say Commercial Road fire was limited by effective safety measures and procedures

All of the family’s possessions were destroyed after the blaze in the B-Central accommodation on Commercial Road.

The fire, which started after a frying pan containing oil ignited, has been described by a fire service safety manager as a “very unfortunate accident”.

During the blaze, the windows to the property were blown out, the wall paper crumbled to pieces and sections of the ceiling appear to have fallen through.

A major response was carried out by the fire service.

Stuart Granger, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service fire safety manager, was at the scene of the fire on Saturday and carried out a fire investigation. He said the fire was accidental and that the cooking had not been left unattended.

“In this very unfortunate accident, the occupier and his family have lost all of their possessions,” Mr Granger added.

The incident started when the occupier was cooking and the frying pan of oil he was using caught fire.

He left the flat with his two-year-old daughter after attempts to control the fire with an extinguisher.

After fire alarms sounded, residents safely evacuated the building and no one sustained any injuries.

Mr Granger said the fire safety measures, which are in place to protect the residents of high-rise premises, coupled with well-practised firefighting procedures resulted in a “well-developed” fire being contained to just one flat.

He said the incident highlights that a serious fire in a modern tall building can occur and all occupants can be safe if the fire procedures are followed and fire safety provisions are in place.

While a large number of residents left the building, the fire safety manager said a ‘stay put’ policy was also used due to the “robust compartmentation in this building”.

He added: “We were aware of some vulnerable residents that had safely remained in the building during the fire and had made contact with them.”

“Our fire control had received calls from these residents and passed their flat numbers to the incident ground. There was no risk to these residents as the fire was safely contained within one compartment – the flat which was on fire.”

The building had a dry rising main, which allowed crews to pump water right to the top of the building. After leaving his flat the occupier closed the door to the flat behind him.

Mr Granger said the block had well-maintained fire doors, with the flat door containing the blaze while fire service procedures were put in place.

The accommodation also had a modern fire alarm system which identified on a display the exact location of the fire, with corridor smoke detectors linked to extraction systems.

As is standard after an fire in a building of this nature, members of the commercial fire safety team will visit the building in the next week to ensure the landlord is fully meetings fire safety obligations.

Mr Granger urged residents to report poorly maintained premises to the fire safety team.

Any concerned residents can apply for a home safety check, free of charge, by visiting www.dwfire.org.uk or by calling 0800 038 2323.

If any building owners or landlords wish to discuss the fire safety within their premises, free advice from the fire service is available on 01722 691717 or by emailing fire.safety@dwfire.org.uk

Any members of the public wishing to raise a fire safety concern, such as blocked fire exits, can do so by contacting the fire safety team by emailing enforcement@dwfire.org.uk. Reports are treated in confidence.