A woman suffered potentially serious injuries in a bungalow fire that ripped through three properties in Castle Vale, Birmingham. A man was also treated for a medical incident. The blaze broke out shortly before 1.30pm on Thursday, August 13, in Tangmere Drive, with firefighters arriving to find flames spreading to neighbouring homes.
A hero mum from across the street rushed over to wake an elderly woman who had been sleeping as the fire took hold. Laura Collingwood, 32, told BirminghamLive she could smell the fire and smoke from her home. She initially went to her back garden to get the washing in and then realised the fire was close.
Hero mum rescues sleeping neighbour
Collingwood went over the road in Bond Drive to knock on the woman's door. She said: “She had been sleeping at the time of the incident. When I went the fire was in the hedge at first and then in a settee of a property in Tangmere Drive and then on one property. It started to go to a neighbour's property and I rang the doorbell to get her out. The smoke was coming and we got her out and down the road. She wanted to get her nebuliser and we told her not to go back.”
One woman was rescued but flames caught the back of her pyjamas and set them alight, causing burns to her back. Collingwood added: “One woman got burnt on her back as the fire caught her pyjamas. A smaller fire truck [a brigade response vehicle] came first. Then an ambulance and then the fire brigade.”
Two casualties treated by ambulance crews
West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed two casualties, a man and a woman, the latter with potentially serious injuries. A spokeswoman said: “We were called to a fire on Tangmere Drive in Castle Vale, Birmingham, at 1.24pm and sent two ambulances, two paramedic officers and a critical care paramedic to the scene. On arrival, crews found a man who was treated for a medical incident and conveyed to hospital. A woman was also treated for potentially serious injuries and was also conveyed to hospital.”
Fire Station Commander Adam Dean from Perry Barr Fire Station said the fire started in the right-hand bungalow of two, the one that looks less damaged from the front, and spread to the neighbouring bungalow which has significant damage to its roof. His crews were mobilised at 1.30pm to a 'make pumps five' – five fire engines and a brigade response vehicle, with around 30 firefighters in total.
Fire under control in under 30 minutes
Dean said: “There were two casualties but they had got out of the properties before fire crews arrived. They were being treated by the ambulance service. The casualties' injuries were not known. This was a significant fire. We had some six firefighters with breathing apparatus using hose reel jets to tackle the fire. The fire was under control in under 30 minutes. Firefighters remain on scene to check for hotspots and dampen down. The public are advised to avoid the area with at least part of Tangmere Drive to remain partially closed for a little while longer.”
The fire took hold on one of the hottest days of the year, with temperatures reaching around 34 degrees Centigrade. The cause of the fire is not yet known, and fire service investigators are on scene to establish how it started.
The Castle Vale inbound side of Tangmere Drive reopened, but the outbound side towards Spitfire Island and the side where the damaged bungalows remained closed as investigation work got underway. National Express West Midlands confirmed its 67 and 71 services were initially diverted in both directions via Turnhouse Road and Farnborough Road, but when one side of the road reopened, buses went along it.
A spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said: “Shortly after 1.20pm on Thursday (13 August), we responded to Bond Drive, Castle Vale, Birmingham. Five fire engines and two brigade response vehicles attended, arriving to find a house fire in a single-storey terraced bungalow. The fire had spread to two neighbouring properties. Two casualties were treated by paramedics at the scene. Police colleagues attend to assist with traffic management. Firefighters worked to extinguish the fire and at present, one fire engine remains in attendance damping down hotspots.” West Midlands Police was in attendance for crowd control and traffic management.
