Arson arrest after flat fire that ‘disturbed lives’ and required 40 firefighters to tackle it
Burwell man arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with flat fire in Carlton Way, Arbury, Cambridge. The blaze, which happened at about 3.30pm on Sunday May 10, required 40 firefighters to tackle it and has “disturbed the lives of those living in the area". Picture: CAMBS FIRE - Credit: Archant
A Burwell man has been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with a flat fire that has “disturbed the lives of those living in the area”.
A Burwell man has been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with a flat fire that has “disturbed the lives of those living in the area”.
Two people had escaped from the rear balcony of the flat in Carlton Way, Arbury, Cambridge, on Sunday May 10 prior to crews arriving.
Firefighters rescued one person from a first floor window using a ladder and five others self-evacuated and made themselves known to ambulance crews.
One of them was taken to hospital as a precaution and a number of others were treated by the ambulance service at the scene for smoke inhalation.
The flat was severely damaged by fire and there was smoke damage to other areas of the building. A cat and a dog from another flat died from smoke inhalation despite efforts of crews to revive them using Smokey Paws pet oxygen equipment.
Incident commander Paul Clarke said: “This was a severe fire that has completely gutted the flat and caused smoke damage to other parts of the building.
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“The swift actions of the first crew prevented the fire from spreading further and I also have to praise staff in our combined fire control who provided crucial advice to people in other flats to help keep them safe until crews arrived.
“I’d like to thank local residents for their support and also colleagues in the police, ambulance, Hart teams and local authority who worked hard with us to bring the incident to a safe conclusion and support those residents who were affected, some of whom had to be rehoused due to smoke damage to their flats or as a result of a power loss caused by the fire.”
Police are treating the fire as an isolated incident and a joint investigation is underway between officers and the fire service.
Detective Inspector David Savill said: “The fire has disturbed the lives of those living in the area and we are working to establish the full circumstances around what took place.
“I am keen to hear from anyone who may have heard or seen anything in the area at the time, particularly anybody acting suspiciously or leaving the flats in a hurry.”
The 41-year-old man was bailed to return to police on June 16. Another man, aged 34, was bailed to return to police on June 12.
Anyone with information should call 101 quoting crime reference number 35/30636/20
