Family flees from Wolverhampton house fire
A family of four escaped from a severe house fire in the Black Country today.
The roof of the house in Meon Way, Wednesfield, was completely destroyed when it caught fire due to a suspected electrical fault.
Four crews from Fallings Park, Willenhall and Bloxwich, as well as a support unit attended the scene after the fire took hold at around 6.30am.
The family, including two children, had escaped the building before crews arrived and were being looked after by neighbours.
A large amount of material in the loft contributed to the severity of the fire.
Fallings Park watch commander Gurpreet Gill said the flames took around 30 minutes to extinguish, although small pockets of fire were still present in the house at 8.30am. "There was some sort of electrical fault in the upstairs of the house which caused the fire," he said.
"It was a serious fire and we expect it will take between two and three hours to fully extinguish.
"After that we can start the clean up process and work on securing the property."
Mr Gill added the job was further complicated by the fact that fire hydrants in the street were not working properly.
In the aftermath of the fire a large amount of debris could be seen in the garden of the property.
Jack Shaw, aged 73, who lives opposite the fire-ravaged house, said: "I had just woken up and heard a commotion outside. I looked out of the window and there were two fire engines in the street and black smoke coming out of the roof of the house over the road.
"I was completely shocked. It's lucky the family are all OK."
Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, described the scene as he left the house to buy a newspaper at around 6.30am.
"Just as I opened the front door I heard a commotion and what sounded like shouting," he said. "As soon as I walked out I saw the flames coming from the upstairs of the house over the road. They were about 6ft high and the whole top area of the place was on fire.
"I could see the family were out in the street and I'm just glad to hear no one was hurt.
"It's really sad and it just makes you hope it doesn't happen to you."
