A TEENAGER was arrested on suspicion of arson after families had to flee a blaze at a block of flats in York.
The fire, in Thoresby Road in Acomb, started on a balcony outside two top-floor flats. One was empty but the other had a mum and her one-year-old baby inside. A police investigation is under way after the blaze broke out at 8.45am yesterday. One person was taken to York Hospital.
North Yorkshire Police said the 18-year-old man arrested had since been released on police bail.
Picture: Anna Gowthorpe
Seven flats were evacuated when City of York Council cleaners spotted the fire and raised the alarm, shouting to residents to leave the building.
Station manager Pete Gregory, of Acomb fire station, said the timing of the fire had given the occupants a chance to escape.
He said: “Fortunately smoke detectors were working, which gave them an early warning and they got out through an internal staircase.
“If the fire had been in the middle of the night it could have been a totally different situation.
“If people were sleeping they wouldn’t have been aware of what was going on.
“Someone outside saw it and called it in, but if that had been at night it would have been different, especially with a young child in there as well.”
Marlene Whitehouse, 72, of Thoresby Road, lives opposite the flats and woke up to see them on fire.
She said: “I was in the kitchen and looked up and thought ‘Oh my God there’s a fire’.
“I saw the flames and they were frightening.
“When it first started the fire was coming over the balcony and the flames were fierce.”
Tom Brittain, head of housing at City of York Council, praised the actions of the cleaning staff. He said: “We’re very pleased that no one was injured, thanks to the prompt action of the council worker who raised the alarm, and the work of the fire service.
“We have policies in place around keeping communal areas clear of clutter to minimise fire risk and to support safe evacuation, and we regularly remind tenants how to avoid the risk of fire.”
Residents in other flats spoke of their shock after they were woken by neighbours screaming at them to leave.
One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “I was watching TV and a man came out and said ‘Quick, there’s a fire on the balcony’.
“I thought if it was on the balcony it would be okay, but cleaners who were there shouted ‘Get out’, and when I looked there was debris flying everywhere.
“My heart is racing. I have never seen a real fire before and I do not want to see another one ever again.”
Another neighbour said he was in his flat with his girlfriend and one-year-old child. He said: “I was asleep on the sofa and my girlfriend woke me up and we had to run outside.”
The aerial ladder platform from Huntington was sent to the scene along with a fire engine each from York and Acomb stations.
A spokeswoman for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service said one patient was taken to York Hospital.
The aerial ladder platform from Huntington was sent to the scene along with a fire engine each from York and Acomb stations.
Pictures: Anna Gowthorpe
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