Pensioner rescued in arson attacks on flats

Published: September 26, 2003 | 177th good news item since 2003

Firefighters rescued an elderly woman and her son from a blazing block of flats after a devastating arson attack that left residents homeless indefinitely.

The drama unfolded shortly after 1.45pm on Sunday in Robin Court, Carew Road, Wallington, when a passer-by spotted smoke billowing from the stairwell. The elderly woman and her son tried to flee their top-floor flat, but became trapped when they were overcome by smoke.

Fire crews wearing breathing apparatus entered the building, extinguished the blaze and rescued the pair. The woman, who is understood to be in her 80s and her son, were taken to St Helier Hospital where they were treated for smoke inhalation and later released.

The occupants of the ground floor flat, a mother and her young daughter, were both out when the fire started, but returned to find their home ruined by fire and smoke damage.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said: “I thought the whole place had gone up in smoke. I came back to find the road was closed and there were four fire engines.

“My daughter is absolutely distraught. She had just started back at school after being off ill for so long.

“There’s no way I can bring my daughter back to the flat how it is at the moment. It’s very sad that people have this sort of mentality. There’s no reason for this.” The woman said it was the second time arsonists had struck at Robin Court after rubbish bins next to her flat were set alight in 1999.

Sub officer Simon Friedlander, from Wallington fire station, said: “It was quite bad – the whole of the stairwell was alight and there were lots of people outside saying there were people inside the building. I think they had tried to open their front door and had got smoke in their flat. They were both very frightened.” Police investigating the cause of the fire confirmed it had been started deliberately after a small box of books left in the communal hallway was torched using an accelerant.

Sub officer Friedlander said young arsonists were a common hazard in the Wallington area. He added: “It was a serious incident as these people were trapped in their homes. We also found no working smoke alarms in the building, which are so important in saving lives.” A spokesman for Kelsey Housing Association, which owns the block, said tenants were unable to return to their homes. She said: “They have been offered hotel accommodation by us and the local authority but they have chosen to stay with friends.

Published in Rescues
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