Peterborough Fatal Flat Fire Accidental

16 July 2014, 15:25 | Updated: 16 July 2014, 15:30

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service says a fatal flat fire in Peterborough was an accident.

Three crews were called to the property in Risby, North Bretton at around 5:50pm last Thursday.

They discovered a fire in a ground floor flat, extinguishing the flames within around half an hour.

A disabled woman in her 50s was pronounced dead at the scene.

A fire investigation has since been carried out, and established that it was started accidentally, most likely as a result of 'discarded smoking materials'.

The incident occurred when members of the Fire Brigades Union were on strike in their continuing dispute with the government over pensions and retirement age.

Chief Fire Officer Graham Stagg said: "Three crews - one from Dogsthorpe, one from Stanground and an on-call crew - responded to the incident immediately and arrived in the time we normally would, with the same number of crews as usual, had FBU members not been striking. 

The on-call crew was returned to base as it was not required at the scene. 

Unfortunately a disabled female resident was already deceased on our arrival.

This is exactly the sort of incident we are trying to prevent by working with partners and other organisations in Cambridgeshire. 

In one week we have tragically seen the death of two vulnerable residents with medical conditions.

These are the very people we are trying to identify in our community so we can help and educate them about fire risks in their home to prevent these fires from happening. 

If you know someone in your street, on your estate or in your community who you think is vulnerable, please, contact the fire service so we can ensure everyone in our community has the best chance to be protected against fire.

Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of the victims at this time."