No casualties in high-rise flats in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland

Fire Exit Light in Smoky Corridor of Apartment

A number of residents were led to safety from a burning tower block and one person had to be rescued after a fire emerged at some high-rise flats in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.
At about 17:30 on the 15th November, firefighters were called out to Coolmoyne House in Dunmurry, which is located on the outskirts of Belfast, with both fire and smoke pounding multiple floors in the building.
The NI Fire and Rescue Service said that as soon as fire crews got to the site, they had to deal with a “well-developed fire” that was running riot on the ninth floor of the building.
Thankfully, all flats were successfully evacuated, with four people needing treatment from paramedics, while the firefighters managed to get the blaze extinguished by 18:10.
According to Lagan Valley Hospital, two people – a man and a woman – were in stable condition after being admitted as a result of the fire.
A group commander with the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, Geoff Somerville, revealed that firefighters had successfully rescued a man from the flat which the fire started from.
Somerville also stated that the fire service believes that the fire was an accidental one, and had come while the man was “making toast at the time”.
Local community worker Julie Ann Jackson told the BBC that the fire in question had damaged the ninth and tenth floors of the building before the fire crews managed to being it under control, and also said that safety drills had been carried out at the block following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in June.
In total, 11 fire appliances and four ambulances were sent to Coolmoyne House, while the tower block itself – on the Seymour Hill housing estate – is both owned and operated by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

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