Residents evacuated in fire at care home near Shrewsbury
A care home near Shrewsbury had to be evacuated when a fire broke out in a bathroom extractor fan in the early hours.
The alarm was raised at the Cliffdale Residential Home, on Shrewsbury Road, Pontesbury, just after 4.15am on Wednesday.
Three fire crews and a total of 15 fire officers from Minsterley and Shrewsbury went to the home to deal with the incident, which was caused by a fire in an extractor fan in a bathroom.
When fire crews arrived the residents had already been moved to safety, said Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Chris White, station manager at Shrewsbury Fire Station and incident commander, praised the efforts of staff at the home, who had also practically extinguished the blaze by the time they arrived.
Despite the fire being kept under control there was significant smoke logged in the area around the incident, with several members of staff and two residents requiring treatment for smoke inhalation.
Mr White said: "When the crew from Minsterley arrived they were directed to the bathroom on the first floor where there was a fire within the extractor fan in a bathroom.
"The staff there had worked really well and followed all the procedures and evacuated the area.
Staff
"They got the person out and moved all the other residents in the vicinity to a place of safety.
"When we arrived it was still quite smoke logged and we assisted the staff to relocate 14 residents from the first floor to the ground floor.
"After that three of the staff initially involved in relocating the residents has suffered from smoke inhalation. We requested an ambulance and provided first aid until they arrived. There were two residents who also suffered mild smoke inhalation."
Mr White said the staff at the home had prevented the situation being far worse.
He said: "A member of staff had started tackling the fire with an extinguisher then the crews took over. The fire was small but caused quite a lot of smoke to be logged in the corridor.
"The actions of the staff prevented the fire from escalating and they did a great job."
The situation was under control by 5.40am but emergency services remained at the scene for some time.
The fire service urged drivers to take care using the Shrewsbury Road through the village as emergency vehicles were parked up on the road.
