Bournemouth road closes after fire breaks out in building

Around 30 firefighters rushed to the scene of the incident at St Peter’s Hall in Hinton Road, Bournemouth, on Wednesday afternoon.

The fire service was called shortly after 2.35pm by a member of the public in a neighbouring building, who spotted the fire in the ground-floor flat.

• Bournemouth student flats have club lounge, fitness suite and games room

Six fire engines, as well as the aerial ladder platform, attended the town centre incident. A team of four firefighters entered the building to swiftly extinguish the blaze.

Ian Read, white watch manager at Westbourne Fire Station, said: “We were called by a member of the public from another building, who noticed the fire, and we came with six appliances, around 30 firefighters, and an aerial ladder platform because we treat this as a high-rise.

“The fire was on the ground floor and we put in a team of four breathing apparatus, who quickly extinguished the fire.

“The cause is still under investigation. The flat is currently unoccupied, so we are trying to work out what the cause was.

“We have a fire investigation officer here, who is helping us to find out what caused the fire.”

Hinton Road was closed from the junction with Westover Road to just past St Peter’s Hall while fire service crews from Westbourne, Springbourne, Poole and Redhill dealt with the incident.

Police were also in attendance to oversee the road closure, with assistance from the town centre rangers.

The ambulance service sent fast responders to the scene and they remained there on standby.

Students living in St Peter’s Hall gathered on the pavement outside the building.

Mr Read added: “This building is student accommodation and we are cautious.

“We just want to make sure everyone is safe – that is the main thing – and everyone is following the policies as they should be.

“As we understand it, the building has a stay-put policy and we are supporting the management company as best we can.”

A spokesperson for Collegiate, who operate the student accommodation, said: “A small fire, contained to one room, was reported in a ground floor studio apartment at St Peter’s Hall, Bournemouth. All fire safety systems operated to plan and the building was evacuated as a precaution while the fire brigade was in attendance.

“We are pleased to confirm that no one was injured, or required and medical attention, and residents have now returned to the building. The fire brigade is happy that the building is safe and all tenants can be accommodated.”

St Peter’s Hall features a private fitness suite, dinner party room, on-site cinema, club lounge and games room. Prices range between £11,475 per year at the top end to £9,435.