TWO people had to be rescued after a blaze ripped through their home forcing its roof to collapse.
The pair had to be treated at Burton’s Queen’s Hospital after the incident wrecked the upstairs of their home in Merrydale Road, Stapenhill.
Four fire engines, two ambulances and a police car went to the scene after the fire erupted in a wardrobe in an upstairs bedroom just after 11am yesterday.
The blaze quickly engulfed the property and the pair were led to safety before the fire forced flames to spill into the roof space, causing the roof to collapse into the attic.
A man was treated for severe burns to his hands at Burton’s Queen’s Hospital and a woman for shock and smoke inhalation.
Nearby homes had to be evacuated as fire crews battled with the blaze while police closed off part of the street for safety reasons.
Eyewitness Tom Hucker, of nearby Marlborough Crescent, contacted the Mail after capturing several images of the incident.
The 18-year-old said: “I was sitting in my back room, watching television, and then all of a sudden I saw all this smoke.
“I thought someone was having a bonfire but then I saw the flames, then heard the sirens and then saw firefighters with breathing apparatus leading two people away from the house.
“All of a sudden the roof collapsed into the attic.”
A spokesman for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue said: “We were called to the incident at 11.06am which was said to be a wardrobe on fire. The house had two occupants. Both were transported to hospital for treatment.
“Neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution just in the case the fire spread which it did not.
“It is not yet known what caused the blaze but there was major damage to bedrooms upstairs, the attic and the roof.
“Firefighters remained for several hours to damp down the site and make it safe.”
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman told the Mail: “One man was treated for severe burns on his hands before being taken to Burton’s Queen’s Hospital. A second patient was also taken with shock and smoke inhalation.”
