Twenty people evacuated from Peterborough flat fire in middle of the night

Twenty people had to be evacuated from a flat fire in Peterborough in the middle of the night.

Emergency services were called to the blaze, which started in a single flat in Henry Street at 12.35am on Thursday, December 21.

Fire and rescue crews from Stanground, Dogsthorpe, Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade, Whittlesey and Crowland were all called to the scene, and found the fire had spread to the roof. Wearing breathing apparatus firefighters worked hard using hose reels to contain and extinguish the fire meaning only two of the 12 flats were affected.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “The occupant was alerted to the fire by their smoke alarm and had escaped unharmed prior to crews arriving. Subsequently crews worked alongside police officers to evacuate 20 people from the block of flats.

“The crews returned to their stations by 4.35am.

“The cause of the fire was accidental.”