Dramatic scenes as fire rips through flat in Northallerton

The blaze took hold in a bedroom of a three storey property on Bankhead Road in Northallerton at 11.30pm last night.

The scene of the blaze this morning Picture: LAURA WILSON

The fire took hold in a three storey building, made up of a maisonette above a convenience store.

There had been three children and an adult in the home at the time of the blaze. Luckily all four managed to escape uninjured from the ferocious blaze, which completely destroyed the second floor of the flat. 

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it has not yet been established whether the cause of the fire is deliberate or accidental, as the site is still under investigation.

"We have a fire officer inspection out there this afternoon - it's still under investigation at the moment."

A fire crew from Northallerton initially attended the incident and then called for assistance. An aerial ladder platform was sent from Darlington to help fight the blaze from above, while another fire appliance from Coulby Newham attended, along with Northallerton's second fire appliance and a fifth from thirsk.   

It was extinguished using main jets.

The fire service spokeswoman said: "There was one adult and three children who were all out of the property on arrival of the crews and were uninjured. 

"Smoke alarms had sounded in the property and that raised the alarm for the occupiers luckily.

"Crews went into the property with breathing apparatus and use hose reel jets to extinguish the fire. 

"We called for assistance as this was classed as a high rise property, which is three storeys and above. We sent for an aerial ladder platform to help us. 

"Durham fire service helped us by sending one from Darlington."

The row of houses was evacuated, and this morning residents in the area praised the quick response of the fire service.