Man suffers burns as fire destroys bungalow roof in Knowle

A man suffered burns after a severe fire destroyed the roof of a family home. Thirty firefighters tackled the blaze, which started in the roof of the bungalow on Warwick Road in Knowle.

A workman, who was inside at the time, suffered minor burns to his arms.

The fire, which was started accidentally, broke out at around 11.15am today (6th May).

Rob Davis, station commander at Hay Mills fire station, said: “This was a severe fire at a one-storey family bungalow.

“The fire started in the roof space of the property, accidentally.

“Investigations are still ongoing as to what caused the fire but our main objective this morning was to salvage as much of the family’s valuables and heirlooms as possible.

“We had six fire engines, 30 firefighters at the scene, tackling the fire.”

Crews raced to the scene from Solihull, Hay Mills, Billesley and Sheldon.

Police were also there, directing traffic along the country road.

Mr Davis added: “Crews acted quickly and successfully to ensure the fire did not spread to the rest of the house.

“We have managed to extinguish the fire and our efforts are now in the clean-up operation.

“We expect to be here for another three hours.”

One onlooker said: ‘It’s terrible.

“There looks a lot of damage to the roof but thankfully no one was seriously hurt.’

James Crowley, assistant manager of nearby Wyndley Garden Centre, said: “We saw the smoke and realised it was the house on fire.

“We are just thankful that no-one was hurt.”

Read more and view video: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/fire-victim-suffers-burns-blaze-11295359#ICID=FB-Birm-main