[18 April 2007]

Fatal Fire at Pembury Road, Eastbourne.

Fire crews from East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service were confronted with a serious incident when they arrived at a terraced property in Pembury Road, Eastbourne on Wednesday 18th April 2007. The Mobilising & Control Centre (M&CC) received the first emergency call at 0244 hours. The caller outlined that a serious house fire was in progress and that people were possibly still trapped in the building. Six duplicate calls were subsequently received by M&CC.

Three fire appliances from Eastbourne and Pevensey were despatched immediately to the scene. On arrival crews requested an additional, fourth fire appliance and an Arial Ladder Platform (ALP) The blaze was tackled from ground level and roof level whilst a number of crews, wearing specialist breathing apparatus, were dispatched into the building to under-take search and rescue operations and fight the fire. Crews were also deployed into the adjoining properties to ensure the fire didn´t spread through the roof.

Two people escaped from the building before the arrival of East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service. One person jumped from a first floor window and was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. Another person escaped and was also taken to hospital as a result of burns to the hands. Unfortunatly a third person was unable to escape the intense fire and subsequently died as a result of the incident. The fire was contained using three jets and six breathing apparatus.

Two fire victim support units from the Red Cross also attended to assist neighbours that were affected by the fire. The cause of the fire is currently being jointly investigated between Sussex Police and East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service´s specialist Fire Investigation Officer. It is known however, that the two people who successfully escaped the fire were woken by the sound of a smoke alarm. Fire alarms save lives. It is vitally important to check them regularly to ensure they are working correctly.

[Allison Gilson]