Residents have relived the frantic moments when a fire in a pile of rubbish outside homes in Edgbaston spread ‘in seconds’, with windows blown in at two properties and flames licking the sky.
Dramatic video footage shot by a neighbour captured the shocking scene unfolding including the sound of explosions.
The flames threatened to destroy the properties and cars parked nearby until West Midlands fire crews arrived and quickly brought it under control.
Three men ran out of the house as the blaze erupted in a huge pile of rubbish, including settees and railway sleepers, that had been piled up in the front yard of multi-occupied ‘exempt’ hostel premises in Gillott Road.
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The fire rapidly grew into an inferno, with thick black smoke belching into the sky.
Next door, a 74 year old solo resident, who asked not to be named, had to be helped out by fire crews after his front door was also engulfed in flames. The rear lights on his car parked outside melted from the heat.
“It was pretty scary,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot in my life but the speed it went up was very fast, very fast.”
He was checked over by paramedics but was unhurt.
The fire started in a pile of rubbish located outside the house which had been spilling onto the pavement for several days. It had apparently been added to over the past fortnight – neighbours say it was rubbish owned by the property landlords and intended for removal.
The aftermath of the fire in Gillott Road, Edgbaston -Credit:Jane Haynes/BirminghamLive
Gary Smith, watch commander at Ladywood fire station, said they arrived to find thick black smoke belching out of windows and the rubbish well ablaze, with flames up to the first floor.
“The three residents had got out before the flames spread through the house,” he said.
The next door neighbour was unable to get out of his front door because of the flames and was led to safety. Speaking to BirminghamLive this afternoon, he said he had spotted flames out of the corner of his eye while watching TV in his lounge.
“It was from the rubbish outside the house next door. I rang the fire service, and in the time it took to call them and them get here, just a few minutes, the flames had just taken over.
“I could hear my doorbell ringing non stop, it was the heat from the flames setting it off. I realised the heat and flames were at my front door. The heat that built up in those few minutes was just unbelievable.”
He headed to his back door and was then escorted out by firefighters.
Three appliances, and around 15 crew, rapidly brought the flames under control while crew in breathing apparatus continued fighting the fire inside while searching in case of any unaccounted residents.
He said the fire cause was now under investigation. “It started in rubbish that was piled outside, it was a significant amount of rubbish. He said there was no suggestion the rubbish pile was connected to the Birmingham bin strike.
“A large black cloud of smoke billowed out of the house, the front of the property was totally engulfed in flames,” he said. “It was fortunate the residents evacuated themselves.”
Gillott Road stretches from Ladywood to Edgbaston, and is lined with a mixture of family homes, flats and multi occupation premises. One resident said there had been concerns raised multiple times about big piles of rubbish including furniture being left in front of HMO properties in the area, often by the landlords and occupiers.
By this evening the blackened frontage and smashed windows were testimony to the fire’s intense heat.
The residents who had fled the house said they did not wish to comment on their experience. A representative of Spring Housing, which oversees the property, referred us to their head office.
West Midlands Police were called by the fire service to assist with any issues around 3.30pm.
A spokesman from West Midlands Police said: “We were called by West Midlands Fire Service at around 3.30pm and are liaising with them.”
Meanwhile, a crew from West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “We were called by the fire service to reports of a property fire on Gillott Road, Edgbaston at 2.50pm today.
“One ambulance attended and one occupant was assessed but was uninjured.”
In an official statement, West Midlands Fire Service said: “Shortly after 2.40pm on Tuesday (13 May), we responded to Gillott Road, Ladywood, Birmingham.
“Two fire engines and a 4×4 brigade response vehicle from Ladywood and Handsworth stations attended, the first arriving within three minutes of being mobilised.
“This was a fire outside a three-storey property. The fire affected two sets of bay windows and guttering. It caused minor external damage to the neighbouring house.
“Three men were inside the house when the fire started, but they left the property before we arrived. One man was led to safety by crews. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used three hose reels to extinguish the fire.
“Paramedics attended and gave precautionary checks to the occupants, who required no further treatment.
“We confirmed no hotspots remained and left this incident at 5.08pm.”