Fire in communal area of 18th floor Redbridge Towers

On the evening of Saturday 22nd March we received multiple calls reporting a fire in a communal area on the 18th floor of Redbridge Towers in Southampton.

Ten fire engines, an aerial ladder platform and incident command vehicles were in attendance at the incident.

Residents in five flats surrounding the communal area contacted our Control Room and the team supported these residents and provided them with fire survival guidance.

These residents were safely behind fire doors throughout and followed the stay put policy for the building and advice from our Control team. The building behaved exactly as it should have and showed the importance of having appropriate fire safety measures in place and the confidence this gives to residents.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the fire using three jets. Once the fire was out, firefighters worked to ventilate the areas affected by smoke.

The flats surrounding the communal area on the 18th floor were then evacuated with the residents supported by Southampton City Council to find alternative temporary accommodation.

Group Manager Mark Woods said:

“This is a great example of a high-rise building behaving as it should during a fire. The stay-put policy meant that residents were safe in their homes away from the smoke, allowing our crews to arrive and safely extinguish the fire.

“Our teams in Fire Control did a brilliant job in supporting these residents on the end of the phone, advising them on the necessary steps to take throughout the incident before firefighters on the scene were able to lead them outside away from the impacted area.”

“We were then able to work closely with our partners in Southampton City Council who worked to source temporary accommodation for the residents of the flats which surrounded the fire.”

“It is further reassuring to know that had this fire occurred inside one of the flats and not the sterile communal area, that the building is fitted with firefighting sprinklers. These would have contained the fire prior to our arrival but also protected the residents and assisted in their escape.”

A joint investigation by police and fire has been launched looking into what caused the fire.