Latest news with #MerseysideFire
The Independent
8 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
Video shows stark aftermath of manor house blaze
A significant fire erupted at Woolton Hall, a Grade I-listed manor house in Liverpool, on Tuesday evening. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service was called shortly after 8pm, deploying up to nine fire engines to tackle the blaze, with residents advised to keep windows and doors closed. Firefighters were unable to enter the three-storey stone-built property due to safety concerns, as assessed by a building surveyor. In the above video, you can watch crews continue to work at the scene, damping down and checking for hot spots. The privately owned hall, built in 1704, sustained a collapsed roof, and has been the subject of preservation efforts by local campaigners, having also faced a suspected arson attack in 2019.
The Sun
13 hours ago
- General
- The Sun
Huge blaze rips through historic UK manor house as firefighters tackle inferno and people told to avoid area
AN ENORMOUS fire has ripped through a historic Grade I-listed manor house. Woolton Hall in Liverpool was engulfed in flames yesterday evening, with fire crews battling through the night to extinguish the blaze. 3 3 The site, built in 1704, had previously served as a hotel, an army hospital, a convent and a school but had fallen into risrepair in recent years. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) rushed to the scene at around 8.15pm yesterday, finding the three-storey stone-built building "fully involved in [a] fire around 40 by 30 metres in size". By 9.30pm, MFRS had eight fire engines at the scene, as well as an aerial appliance in attendance. The building had become "well alight" and the roof had "collapsed", MFRS said. People have been warned to avoid the area. In its most recent update at 11.30pm last night, MFRS said: "The incident is ongoing and there will be firefighters and fire engines at the scene for some time. "However, firefighters have made good progress and this means that the incident can begin to be scaled down shortly. "Please continue to avoid the area - residents should continue to keep doors and windows closed." 3
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Man, 75, found dead in Wirral after early morning house fire
A man has died in a fire at a home in a seaside town in Wirral that broke out early in the morning, a fire service has said. Crews from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were called to reports of a fire in the ground floor living room of the property on Stanley Road in Hoylake just before 03:00 BST on 7 August .On arrival they found the fire had spread to the first floor and battled to contain the blaze, which was put out at about 05:00. The body of a 75-year-old man was found during a search of the property, and was declared dead at the scene by paramedics from North West Ambulance Service. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
People evacuated from their homes after house fire
People were evacuated from their homes after a house fire in the early hours of this morning. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were called to the scene on Parton Street, Fairfield, at 2.40am. Three fire engines arrived at the scene six minutes later to find a fire on the ground floor of the property. Four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the house to tackle the blaze. Gas and electricity supplies were isolated as a precaution as they dealt with the fire and neighbours were removed from their properties. READ MORE: Arrest after car hits people outside pub READ MORE: Man says he has to drive to McDonald's to use his own car A spokesperson for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service told the ECHO: "Crews were alerted at 2.40 and on scene at 2.46. Three fire engines attended. "Crews arrived to find a two-storey house with the ground floor involved in fire. Four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus (BA) were committed to the property to fight the fire. "Neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution and gas and electrics were isolated. "The main body of fire was soon extinguished and two firefighters in BA continued to dampen down the property while adjoining properties were checked and cleared for fire spread. "Following final temperature checks, crews left the scene at 6.07." For the latest news and breaking news visit Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by signing up to our daily and breaking newsletter. Sign up to our breaking news newsletter here. Follow us on X @LivECHONews or on Bluesky @ - official Liverpool ECHO accounts - real news in real time.
Sky News
08-06-2025
- General
- Sky News
'A catastrophic scandal': Inside the tower block so dangerous residents face being kicked out at any moment
The moment we step into Willow Rise, the smell of damp is overpowering. There are water stains across the carpet and rotten wood on the doors. Around the corner, there's a hole in the wall, barely patched up with a piece of polystyrene sheet. We're meeting a resident on the 13th floor of the building in Kirkby, Merseyside - but the lifts are broken and wires hang out of the service panel. Like everyone living here, we will have to walk. The disrepair in this block is everywhere you look. It has now been deemed so unsafe by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service that they are days away from serving a rare prohibition notice on this tower and its neighbour, Beech Rise, meaning residents will have to leave with immediate effect. In total, 160 households here face instant homelessness. After climbing 13 flights of stairs, we meet Chris Penfold-Ivany. 'A catastrophic scandal' He has terminal cancer, and after chemotherapy and a liver transplant, that climb is now the only way he can get up to his flat. He tells us it's making him breathless. He can no longer get his prescriptions delivered, as the drivers won't come up all the stairs. "It's a catastrophic scandal that we have been left like this," he says. He has lived in this flat for 15 years and has watched the block slowly begin to fall apart over the last decade. He tells us that numerous complaints have achieved nothing. "I'm going to say it," he says, "this is another Grenfell in the making." 'Nobody can live like this ' A few floors down, Arunee Leerasiri opens the door to us, in floods of tears. The stress of the last few weeks has left her anxious and overwhelmed. There are boxes everywhere, bare hooks on the walls where pictures hung. She is packing up her life just three years after putting her life savings into buying this flat. Her elderly mother has come to visit, but she had to hire removal men already to take her mattress into storage as she couldn't manage without the lifts. Tonight, and until they are told they must leave, they will sleep on the floor. "I can't eat, I can't sleep," she tells us, through tears. "Sometimes, if I'm honest, I can't even think. This used to be my home, and now I look around and I don't even recognise it." "Nobody can live like this," she adds. 'Danger, 415 volts' She shows us a video she filmed just a few weeks ago, of one of the electrical risers on the ground floor. None of us can quite believe what we are seeing - water is pouring through the ceiling, directly on to fuse boxes and electrical wiring. Arunee takes us down to show us the cupboard. The water has now stopped but there are damp stains all over the floor and around the electrical equipment. The water pipes and electric boxes are just inches away from one another within the cupboard. One of the boxes, marked 'Danger, 415 volts', is rusted through. Next to it, there is a notice stuck to a resident's door telling them a leak has been identified in their flat - and as a leaseholder, they will be responsible for paying to fix it. "Tell me, how is this safe?" Arunee says. "Why is this building allowed to be open for the public, as a dwelling, with this kind of set-up?" Hidden owners and a plea to the government Merseyside Fire and Rescue tell us they have been serving enforcement notices on the building managers for years, to no avail. They have now been told there is no money for the millions of pounds worth of repairs that will be needed to bring the blocks up to a safe standard. They have mandated a 'waking watch', where teams physically patrol the buildings daily to check for fire risks, without which they will serve the prohibition notice and tell residents they must leave straight away. Knowsley Council has stepped in to pay for this temporarily - at a cost of £3,000 per day. Their deputy leader tells us, though, that the money will soon run out. Where to go? With a complex management structure and several owners, managers and agents over the years, the council says it doesn't even know who is to blame for the disrepair - or who even has the legal responsibility for maintaining the buildings. It says discussions are ongoing with central government about whether any extra help - or money - can be provided to try to fix the mess. Right now though, all the residents can do is wait. With no date to leave and no idea if anything can be done to keep the buildings open, they are spending every day fearing the call to tell them they have to go. They can only hope there will be somewhere for them if they do.
