Firshill Crescent fire: Two leap from upstairs window as flat ablaze near Sheffield United training ground

Both were described as having leapt from the window of the council flat on Firshill Grove, Shirecliffe, just yards from Sheffield United’s training ground.

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One was later taken away by ambulance, said one shocked neighbour, who told how he ran from his own flat after he had realised there was a fire in the building..

Mohamed Saleh, who lives in another flat in the same block, said he had been asleep when the fire started, and was later told two people had jumped from the window.

He said: “I woke up and saw smoke.

"It was terrifying. An ambulance was here earlier to help the people who had jumped.

"I ran outside when I woke up – the corridor was full of smoke.”

A blanket could be seen on the ground below the window this afternoon, with several windows still open at the back of the flat. The windows on the other side of the flat appeared to have suffered damage from the fire. They were broken and their frames appeared warped.

Another neighbour on the estate said there had been anti-social behaviour in the area before the fire, and they had reported it to Sheffield Council.

Watch manager Alex Wilson, from Aston Park Fire Station, who was in charge of the fire service response to the blaze, said they were called out at 11.50am, and when they arrived flames were leaping from the windows.

Fire engines were sent from Aston Park, Parkway, and Birley fire stations.

He said: “Two people self extricated before our arrival and were taken to hospital.

“We committed six breathing apparatus and two hose reels, and that was what brought it under control.”

He said the cause of the fire was under investigation, although it was initially believed to have started accidentally.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service said in a statement: “We received an emergency call at 11.49am on Thursday to reports of a property fire in the Firshill Crescent area of Sheffield and dispatched an ambulance and team leader to the incident. One patient was conveyed to hospital. Another patient was checked over on scene, but declined to travel to hospital.”

Police also attended the scene, and community support officers closed off Firshill Crescent, from the junction with Firshill Glade, to keep traffic away from the scene while the firefighters worked.

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