Five people have been rushed to hospital after two houses in Walsall and Bristol went up in flames less than 12 hours apart.
Emergency services were called to Shrewsbury Close in Bloxwich, Walsall, at around 9.30pm yesterday after an inferno left a two-storey, mid-terraced property completely decimated.
The blaze left one man ‘serious burns’ while another remains in ‘critical’ condition at Queen Elizabeth Hospital,
Birmingham
.
When medics first arrived at the scene, they say one of the men refused assistance and was initially discharged.
But they received a second phone call at 11.31pm – two hours after the explosion – and found the two men on Lower Lichfield Street, in the neighbouring town of Willenhall.
The inferno, had also affected neighbouring properties but crews led one man to safety.
The police and fire service say they are now trying to establish a sequence of events to discover what caused the blaze.
The fire came just seven hours before another house, this time in Bristol, was ravaged by flames after a
suspected
‘gas explosion’ caused it to blow up.
Terrifying footage of the inferno shows it tearing through the property on Lancaster Road, Yate, at around 06:50am today.
Medics quickly arrived at the scene and rushed three people to hospital where they are receiving treatment for burn injuries.
Two of those hospitalised are said to have been residents of the home which has been almost entirely burnt to the ground.
Their injuries are ‘not believed to be life-threatening or life changing’.
A fourth person was also injured by the blaze but these were ‘minor’ and have been ‘seen to by the ambulance service’.
Many surrounding properties have been evacuated with the fire service escorting around 40 residents from their homes on Lancaster Road.
Neil Lewis, who saw the flames as he was driving past, said there was ‘debris everywhere’.
He told the
BBC
: ‘The house has gone up, it looks like an explosion.
‘There’s debris everywhere and people in the street. I’m not sure if it was the neighbours or the people in the house, but it looked like they were being cared for. They looked in shock, in distress.’
Yate Town Councillor, Alan Monaghan, described the fire and explosion as ‘unbelievable’.
He added: ‘A lot of residents are out in utter shock. They can’t believe it’s happening. Some people are quite distressed.’
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police told MailOnline a refuge centre had been set up for locals affected by the blaze.
They said: ‘Officers are supporting Avon Fire and Rescue Service at the scene of a suspected gas explosion in Lancaster Road, in Yate, at 6.50am this morning.
‘Three people have been taken to hospital with injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening or life changing. A fourth person has sustained minor injuries and was seen to by the ambulance service.
‘A cordon has been put in place and a number of properties have been evacuated. A refuge centre has been set up at a nearby public house.
‘Members of the public are being advised to avoid the area and keep the roads clear while emergency services are at the scene.’
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust added: ‘We were called at 06:51hrs on Tuesday 29 April to an incident in Yate, Bristol.
‘We sent four double-crewed land ambulances, two operations officers, a critical care car and the hazardous area response team to the scene.
‘We conveyed three patients by land ambulances to Southmead Hospital.’
Avon Fire and Rescue Service told MailOnline the fire had ‘been safely extinguished’.
A spokesperson said: ‘We were called at 6:53am to reports of a gas explosion in a residential home on Lancaster Road, Yate this morning.
‘The explosion caused a fire, which has now been safely extinguished. A cordon has been put in place and approximately 40 people have been evacuated from their homes as a precaution.
‘Three people have been injured and have been taken to hospital with injuries that are not expected to be life threatening. A fourth person has been treated by the ambulance service at the scene.
‘Local people are asked to avoid the area while we deal with the incident.’
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