Man flees Whitchurch blaze home

A man had to flee his smoke-filled home after a fire broke out in a block of flats in Shropshire. He had tried to put the blaze out himself at Pauls Moss, Whitchurch.

The man, named locally as Carl King, was beaten back by the flames and fled.

Mr King, who is believed to be in his 30s, had to flee without his pet cat sparking fears it would perish inside, but firefighters managed to rescue the animal.

Neighbour Chris Edwards said: "My missus woke me up saying there was a fire and I looked through the peephole and couldn't see anything but smoke.

"Smoke wasn't getting into our flat but you could still smell it."

Mike Beach, watch manager at Whitchurch fire station, said the fire appeared to have started in the utility room of the second floor flat just before 8am yesterday.

At its height, about 25 firefighters from Whitchurch, Prees and Malpas were at the scene.

Mr Beach said: "It was quite a severe fire inside that room and the occupier said he was awoken by a loud bang, which we think is associated with the electrical items.

"He said he got up on his feet and found the flat full of smoke. He did try to tackle it himself and rescue his cat but as it was an intense fire he decided to leave and call us.

"There was lots of fire damage in the utility room and smoke damage in the rest of the flat plus the appliances were damaged."

The crews stood down by about 11am after ventilating the property.

David Fisher, from Equity Housing Group, which owns the block of flats, said: "We think it was an electrical fire that started and we have found alternative accommodation for the resident and we will be paying for that."