Fire crews in Hartcliffe and residents told to stay inside after tower block fills with smoke

Fire crews from all over Bristol rushed to the scene

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Residents of a tower block in South Bristol were told to stay inside their homes as smoke filled all the floors and sparked a major response from firefighters across the city.

No one was hurt in the incident, which started at just after 8.45am this morning, Sunday January 29, when there was a fire in the communal bin store on the ground floor of Oak House in Bishport Avenue in Hartcliffe.

The fire was contained in the bin store, but sent thick smoke back up the chutes onto all floors of the 11-storey tower block.

Read next: Sprinklers for all tower blocks as Bristol City Council announces £97m fire safety measures

Avon Fire and Rescue service received multiple calls from residents, and seven fire crews and incident command units rushed from across Bristol to attend the scene, including from Bedminster, Temple and Chew Fire Stations.

Residents of the 64 flats were advised to remain behind their closed doors, and visitors were told to stay away from the 1962-built block, as fire crews worked to put out the fire, and to make sure that the fire hadn't spread anywhere else.

Crews used gas monitoring equipment, and thermal imaging equipment to ensure the flames and debris from the blaze in the bin store had not travelled further into the block of flats and were still smouldering, and fire crews entered each floor to use ventilation equipment to forcefully push the smoke outside.

While the fire itself was quickly extinguished, fire crews remained at Oak House for several hours to clear up the scene and ensure everything was back to normal, before eventually leaving just before lunchtime.

The fire is the latest in a series of fires at tower blocks across Bristol, that have caused one death, many injuries and multiple controversies. Only last week, city council chiefs pledged almost £100 million investment in better fire safety measures.