Update following fire in Rectory Farm, Northampton

 

**Correction: In our previous message we said that the man who had died was 29. We would like to apologise as we now know that he is in his 30s.**

 

A man has died following a fire at a domestic property in Rectory Farm, Northampton yesterday (March 20).

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to reports of a fire at Olden Road at 1.34pm. The first fire engine arrived shortly afterwards and found the property well alight, with smoke billowing from a further three neighbouring properties.

Initially two hose reels, two 45mm jets and two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were deployed to tackle the blaze. Orders were made for further pumps to attend, while police and ambulance were also called as well as the electrical and gas boards.

All properties were searched and evacuated. Sadly however a 29-year-old man was confirmed to have died having been discovered outside one of the properties, and the coroner has been informed.

Efforts by firefighters meant that the fire had been extinguished by 3pm with crews then damping down the area and the aerial appliance from Moulton removing a number of roof tiles to secure the safety of the scene.

After damping down had been completed, and gas and electrics had been isolated to the property, firefighters continued to monitor any hotspots using thermal imaging cameras. The cameras identified a small pocket of fire in one of the roof spaces that had restarted later on, but this was quickly extinguished using a hose reel jet just before 7pm.

Fire crews remained at the scene until just after midnight, with Northamptonshire Police then providing a scene guard overnight. Overall two appliances from Moulton attended the incident, as well as fire engines from The Mounts, Mereway, Wellingborough, Rushden, Brixworth and Rothwell.

Initial investigations to determine the cause of the blaze were started last night, and this morning firefighters returned to the scene alongside colleagues from Northamptonshire Police to continue those investigations.

Station Manager Ronnie Rochester, who attended the fire, said: “Our immediate thoughts are with the family and friends of the gentleman who sadly died at the scene.

“This was a very harrowing incident for both our firefighters and the members of public who witnessed this. We will be offering welfare support to our firefighters and will also do our best to help anyone else who witnessed it.

“We would like to extend our thanks to those members of public who quickly alerted our control room and provided us with important information which informed our response.”