Fire leaves flat residents without running water

1 day ago

Alex Pope

News image — Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was called on Saturday morning to a fire in Peterborough

Supplied A fire in a bin store, with a metal structure to the right and a metal box. A car is to the left. — Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was called on Saturday morning to a fire in Peterborough

More than 100 flats were left without water after a bin store fire destroyed a communal water tank, a resident said.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to an "accidental" blaze on Vicarage Farm Road in Peterborough just before 10:00 BST on Saturday.

The Varity House resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said the fire left "an entire block of residents without running water or internal sanitation".

The management company said it had been unable to restore the water over the weekend but repairs were expected to take place over the next few days, with bottled water and portable toilets arranged.

Supplied A burnt out building, with collapsed bricks and burnt pieces of wood. Part of the structure has fallen down. — An outbuilding was completely destroyed in the blaze

The fire service said crews arrived to find a blaze in a bin store and it was put out by about 11:30.

The resident said the fire "completely destroyed our main communal water tank supply".

They said Anglian Water delivered 12 litres of water to every resident in the 111 flats.

Supplied A row of blue portable toilets, by a metal building, with an area of grass in front and a brick path. A metal railing is to the right. — A row of portable toilets were delivered to the site

Shabina Qayyum, Labour leader of Peterborough City Council, visited the site and said on social media the water tank had "exploded".

She thanked Anglian Water "who have been absolutely amazing", and had sent "a whole lorry load of water".

She added that she had been in touch with residents and the management company, and the council had "activated its emergency planning service" for the "awful" situation.

Supplied A fire in a building, showing thick dark smoke coming up in the air. There are a row of black bins, cars in the distance and a building behind the smoke. — A large plume of smoke could be seen in the area

The management company said: "We fully appreciate how difficult and disruptive this situation is for everyone, and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused."

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