Man in 70s dies in house fire in Oldbury

West Midlands Fire Service was called to the blaze in Defford Drive just after 1.20pm on Tuesday.

The fire service said it had received reports of smoke and flames coming from a first floor bedroom of a semi-detached property.

A man in his 70s was confirmed dead at the scene. West Midlands Police is supporting the man's family and helping in the investigation into the cause of the fire.

Crews from Oldbury, Haden Cross, Handsworth and Smethwick attended the incident, with the first crew arriving in under four minutes.

A statement from the fire service said: "Following liaison with West Midlands Police, we are sadly able to confirm that a gentleman in his 70s was involved in the incident and was confirmed dead at the scene."

West Midlands Police said: "We were called to a house fire in Defford Drive, Oldbury at 1.30pm on January 31.

"Sadly, a man in his 70s was confirmed dead at the scene.

"Officers are supporting West Midlands Fire Service and investigations are ongoing."

Earlier a spokesman for the service said: "The fire has affected 100 per cent of the first floor and 50 per cent of the property overall.

"Crews wearing breathing apparatus are tackling the fire using a hose reel jet and covering jet."

At 3pm, the fire service said crews had extinguished the blaze.

West Midlands Ambulance and West Midlands Police were also called to the scene.

The road was closed and residents were asked to avoid the area.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said that one ambulance, two paramedic officers and a hazardous response team attended.

People living on Defford Drive spoke of seeing smoke coming out of the windows and hearing and seeing fire engines coming up the road towards the house.

One woman, who asked not to be named, said she had been sitting in her home and had heard noises outside, but had only heard about the fire from another neighbour.

She said: "I'm shocked to hear about there being a fire in that house as I didn't know anything was going on until my neighbour told me about seeing smoke.

"I don't know the person who lives there, but I hope everything is alright."

There were a few people who had come to the police cordon to see what was going on, with one man saying he'd been picking up his child from the nearby Q3 Academy Langley and had been shocked to see fire engines and police.

The man, who didn't want to be named, said: "You don't expect to see something like this down here and I just wanted to see what was going on.

"I've heard rumours about what has happened, but you don't want to guess."