Fire crews from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service rescued five people from a fire in block of flats in the Teams area of Gateshead last night.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service's Control Room received a call at 21.52pm last night. Two fire appliances from Gateshead East and two from Gateshead North Community Fire Station attended the incident. Twelve firefighters tackled the fire which was put out using three hose reels. Three firefighters entered the block of flats wearing breathing apparatus.
The ground floor stairwell was completely damaged by fire and all four flats in the building were smoke damaged.
One of the occupants jumped from a first floor flat prior to the fire and rescue service's arrival whilst a child was passed from one occupier to the occupant who had jumped to safety. One person was also rescued from a ground floor flat by the Police. A Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service Control Room Operator also provided fire survival guidance to one of the occupiers until fire crews arrived.
None of the flats had smoke alarms.
Station Manager Mick Edwards, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said: "I would like to praise the firefighters and the police officer for their bravery in rescuing the occupants. There is no doubt that this could have been much worse and we could have been looking at a number of fatalities. I would like to urge everyone to ensure they have working smoking alarms; they can be the difference between life and death, giving early notification of a fire."
DI Derek Barrett of Gateshead Area Command said: "We are pleased we were able to evacuate the building efficiently and there were no serious injuries. This could have been a potentially fatal fire and firefighters and police officers worked effectively to ensure everyone was brought out to safety. We will continue to work with the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service to investigate the cause of the fire."
Over the next couple of days Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service will be visiting neighbouring properties in the area to offer them free home safety checks; providing information and advice on how to stay safe from fire and fitting free smoke alarms.
The cause of the fire is being investigated by the fire and rescue service and the police.
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