Towering practise for fire crews
Smoke poured from the upper floor windows of Fitzleet House and two residents were rescued from balconies as an aerial ladder reached up to the 11th of its 15 floors.
Fire crews from around the county took part in the 90 minutes of drama as they practised what they hope they will never have to do for real.
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Hide AdMonday evening's training was organised by Ian Paine, a watch manager at Bognor's fire station.
He said: "We have never had an exercise like this before. We treated the building as if it was on fire.
"The exercise was very successful. Our plan worked very well.
"There are a few things we will want to tweak, but the overall
procedures went exactly as we expected them to.
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Hide Ad"We will use results of the exercise as a blueprint for fighting fires in all the tall buildings around the county."
The fire alarm sounded at 7pm to see 25 residents evacuated from the tower block of 74 flats, with 15 of them in an adjoining three-storey block.
Once they had made their way to safety, by their own accord or on the ladder, the 50 or so firefighters went into the building.
The 1960s building on Queensway presents a particular challenge because it has only one central stairwell. This is similar to the design of the flat block in Camberwell in which six people died earlier in the summer.
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Hide AdPlanning for the Bognor exercise had begun months before that '“ in early 2008 '“ but the deaths provided an extra meaning to the occasion.
Watch manager Paine said the training was also important to enable Fitzleet House's residents to be aware of how to react in
a fire.
"There are people with disabilities and people of different nationalities who live there," he stated.
"It's vital they are aware of what to do if a fire starts and the evacuation procedures which are in place."
Firefighters stayed on site for about 90 minutes.
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Hide AdThey were watched by several senior officers, including the county's top firefighter, as well as a sizeable crowd of bystanders. The Queensway stayed open to traffic all the time.
Watch manager Paine said he was delighted by the co-operation of the building's managing agents, Parsons Son and Basley, in arranging the exercise as well as improving the flats' fire safety measures.
Fitzleet House caretaker Simon Hawes said: "We were very impressed with the professionalism of the firefighters.
"That sort of training exercise is vital for knowing exactly what to do when there is a fire.
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Hide Ad"The details they learnt will make it easier the next time they have to come on the site."
Far more firefighters were indirectly involved in the exercise by providing cover for those on the spot.
Among them were crews at Arundel fire station, who stood in for Bognor, and East Preston who kept staffing levels up at Littlehampton.
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