On 19 October 2015 around 50 people were evacuated from a block of flats on Maida Hill following a fire.

21 firefighters attended the blaze which damaged around a quarter of a two- bedroomed flat in the block. Thankfully there were no injuries.

The fire service Watch who was at the scene said: “The fire was caused by cardboard boxes piled up next to a storage heater. The flat’s occupant had unpacked some boxes, broken them down, leant them against the heater and then left the building. While the resident was out the cardboard began to heat up and eventually caught fire. The winter is drawing in now and lots of people are turning the heating on again for the first time in months. It’s really important to remember to keep paper, furniture, blankets and other flammable materials away from heaters. “Neighbours admitted that the smoke alarm had been going off for some time but they waited until they saw smoke before they called the Brigade. Don’t delay if you hear a smoke alarm sounding as the quicker we know about the fire the quicker we can respond.\”

Our property management advice is:- Remember to keep your commercial or residential property clear of rubbish/materials left around that are not needed and which could cause a fire.