Public used ladders to rescue people from flat fire

Members of the public used ladders to save people trapped inside a burning building in Warwickshire on Saturday, a resident has said.

Six fire engines were called to Husbandmans Close, in Shipston-on-Stour, shortly before 20:00 GMT.

Two people were taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for further treatment- a woman in critical condition and a man with very serious injuries.

"I was sat inside watching TV and I heard an almighty bang, I've opened my flat door, looked left and the bottom of the stairs are engulfed in flames," said Simon Hudson, one of the residents.

"I shouted to one of my neighbours, Steve… he's come out of his flat, bolted through mine, jumped out of my bedroom window and I've basically very quickly followed him.

"A couple of neighbours from both sides of the address popped over, it was ladders everywhere."

Eight residents lived in the building, with some in their 20s and others in their 80s, Hudson said.

Hudson said he had lost "everything" in the blaze.

"It's clothes, it's all my personal belongings, souvenirs from holidays, [my] PC, just everything."

He said he was told by a firefighter that it could be 12 months before he gets back into the flat, where he lived for three-and-a-half years.

Firefighters remained at the scene on Sunday morning damping down.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Crews took 15 minutes to respond, but Hudson said he believed the response "could have been quicker".

"We had a station in the town about half a mile away, it could've been less than five minutes of a response time if that was still open."

Warwickshire County Council said Shipston-on-Stour Fire Station remained an operational fire station, and provided resources when needed for major emergencies across the county.

"Fire cover for the town is, and has always been, provided through a wider network of fire stations and appliances," it said.

It added that before 2025, Shipston-on-Stour Fire Station operated as an on-call station, but low availability of on-call firefighters meant it was "rarely" able to respond to incidents at night and was "almost never" available during the day.

Manuela Perteghella, Liberal Democrat MP for Stratford-on-Avon, thanked the firefighters and first responders who were on scene.

She added that she had requested a meeting with the area's chief fire officer to raise concerns about fire cover and response times around Shipston.

Yana Le Tissier and her husband are joint owners of one of the flats.

She said she first heard of the fire when her tenant sent her a message on Saturday evening.

"People were getting ladders, putting them up to the windows and saving the residents that were on the top floors, and the two elderly gentleman that live on the ground floor," she told the BBC.

"I think the people that helped do need recognition because they did save lives that day, waiting for the fire brigade to arrive and put the flames out.

"They could've run away, even those that were traumatised by what had occurred to them, they could've run away in fear but they didn't, they all clubbed together and got people out of the building."

Kendra Spooner, who runs Friendly Food Sharing in Shipston, said she was "heartbroken" about the fire, especially since it is so close to Christmas.

The scheme collects charity food seven days per week, and she is now collecting clothes, hygiene products and food to support those affected by the fire.

"There's two people in a hotel that haven't got any food, so I've been in touch with the hotel to get microwaves so I can get them some food," she said.

"Some people are without coats because they left those behind.

"I don't have enough toiletries, toothbrushes, toothpaste, bodywash, deodorants... clothes, male clothes."

She added that she was grateful for local communities donating the items.

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