A huge wildfire in the West Midlands completely destroyed 19 homes after it rapidly spread to buildings during the UK’s hottest day of the year.
West Midlands Fire Service chief fire officer Simon Tuhill said firefighters were in attendance at 10 “significant” blazes across the region on Thursday, in scenes some described as “apocalyptic”.
Speaking at the scene of a fire which spread over more than 500 acres in Stourbridge, Mr Tuhill told reporters one firefighter was taken to hospital but has since been discharged, with a further five suffering minor injuries, including smoke inhalation.
Crews are still working to tackle the blaze, which has left a “significant” number of residents displaced after a further 18 homes were damaged on top of the 19 that were destroyed.
Mr Tuhill told reporters that local farmers ploughed fields next to houses, which prevented the blaze from spreading to other nearby buildings.
The fire chief said on top of the fire in Stourbridge, the fire control 999 centre took more than 1,100 calls on Thursday – adding that the fire service “mobilised to hundreds and hundreds of incidents”.
The neighbouring county of Staffordshire saw a further fire destroy four homes in the Goldenhill area of Stoke-on-Trent.
Staffordshire Police said a 23-year-old man and 24-year-old woman, both from the city, have been arrested on suspicion of arson after the incident.
A local resident said she “couldn’t believe” what was happening as the fire started feet away from her home on Wignall Road and that her nearby friends had lost their homes after the blaze.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue service later said six firefighters had been taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion after battling blazes across the county.
Across the West Midlands, a total of 54 people have been treated by paramedics, including 19 who were admitted to hospital, following the fire outbreaks, West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said.
In Stourbridge, the Prime Minister said during a visit to the town on Friday that he had “never seen scenes like this in Britain, where you just see a whole house gutted, smouldering.”
Andy Burnham revealed he had called in the military, announced a ban on disposable barbecues and said plans were being drawn up for emergency financial support for fire services battling the spread of wildfires across the country.
In a separate blaze in Birmingham, a man said he watched his childhood home go up in flames in Highters Heath in which his mother had “lost absolutely everything” – including 100 years of family photos.
Speaking to the Press Association, Andrew Reynolds, 42, said: “There’s nothing saveable.”
He described the scene on Thursday night as an “inferno” which destroyed the house his mother has lived in for 34 years.
Tony Aldhouse, 62, who also lives on the street, said his garden looks like a “bomb had hit it”.
The fire service said there was a full evacuation of around 50 residents at the blaze at Gorleston Road, where a number of terraced houses have been damaged by the fire.
The West Midlands was subject to an amber warning for extreme heat for much of Thursday before multiple fires were reported.
Images from blazes across the region show blackened and burnt out buildings with collapsed roofs, as well as charred areas of grass.
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