Crews attend fatal house fire

We have extinguished a house fire in Stafford this morning (24 January) after a man sadly died.

A passer-by reported hearing a smoke alarm going off inside an address on Peel Street in Castletown this morning. We sent crews from Stafford, Rising Brook and Stone to the scene at about 6am.

When we got there, smoke was coming out of a terraced property. We forced our way inside and used hose reel jets to extinguish the fire. The two adjoining properties were evacuated as a precaution.

Our colleagues from Staffordshire Police and West Midlands Ambulance Service also went to the scene.

A man, in his 90s, was found unresponsive inside. Sadly, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Station Manager Leigh Richards, who went to the scene, said: “Our thoughts and condolences are very much with the man’s family at this tragic time.

“Specialist fire investigators will be in the area today to establish the cause of the fire.

“I’d like to thank the public for their patience and understanding at the cordon whilst we continue to work at the scene. Prevent and protect teams will be speaking to residents nearby as part of this activity which is expected to continue throughout this afternoon.”

Updates will be provided in due course.