Evacuation after YMCA fire

By Harriet Ernstsons Wednesday 30 January 2013 Updated: 31/01 11:47

Buy photos » Frederick Eary House residents were evacuated in the early hours of Wednesday after a fire there. Picture by Marcus Mingins 0513020MMR

RESIDENTS had to be evacuated from a YMCA building in the early hours of the morning after a fire in an electrical cupboard.

Two fire crews from Redditch and one from Bromsgrove were called to the 33 apartment complex Frederick Eary House at 3.10am today (Wednesday) after the blaze broke out in on the ground floor of the Woodrow building, which was opened last June.

More than 30 residents were evacuated and temporarily housed in the common room of another building owned by the charity.

Ashley Hewitt said: "Redditch YMCA would like to thank all the tenants for their co-operation. We would also like to thank all the emergency services and Redditch Borough Council for their assistance."

He added they were hoping to move the residents back in as soon as possible. The extent of the damage is not yet known but it is believed there is smoke damage.

A spokeswoman for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said an area around 40m by 25m had been affected. One hose reel, four CO2 extinguishers and four dry powder extinguishers were used to tackle the fire.

Around 50 properties around the Studley Road property have been left without power following the fire. A spokeswoman for Western Power said the majority of the problem should be fixed by around 12.30pm but around ten houses would not have their power restored until 4pm.

"We would like to apologise to customers affected but our engineers are on site working to solve the issue."

She added the cause of the fire was not yet known but the priority for the company was restoring power to all affected properties.