A boy remains in a critical condition in hospital after a house fire in Hucknall which emergency services have deemed to be accidental. Crews from fire stations in Ashfield, Hucknall and Stockhill attended the incident on Coronation Road just after 8.20am on Thursday, August 18.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue said that a worried neighbour rang 999 after black smoke billowed from one of the front windows of the property affected. An investigation into the cause of the fire returned a conclusion of "accidental", but emergency services have confirmed that a boy is still in hospital as of Monday, August 22.
Fire investigation manager Lucie Poxon said: "Following a fire investigation, we can now confirm that the cause of the fire has been deemed as accidental. The fire was located behind the door of a bedroom in the property, and a boy was rescued by attending fire crews from this room, who provided emergency aid prior to the arrival of EMAS [paramedics].
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"On behalf of everyone at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, we extend our thoughts and prayers to the boy's family and friends during this difficult time and thank attending fire crews for their actions." Four breathing kits, two hose reel jets, ventilators and thermal imaging cameras were used during the incident.
Residents living on Coronation Road described seeing smoke coming from the property on the day of the incident. Raymond Shilton, 74, said: "It was early in the morning and I saw the flashing lights coming down the street wondering what it was, so I came out to have a look.
"Then I saw this thick black smoke coming down the street from the window of the house. There were about three fire engines here at one point. I haven't seen anyone coming back to the property yet and I just hope that the young lad is alright."
One resident, who did not want to be named, said that she had heard banging as fire crews reportedly broke down the front door of the property to get inside. She said: "The whole street was out to see what was happening and I had heard banging first of all and wondered what it was.
"When I saw the fire it was just awful. We're all praying that the boy makes a full recovery and it was just atrocious when we heard what had happened."
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue said that crews visited properties in Hucknall over the weekend to offer fire safety advice following Thursday's incident. Sue Hardstaff, 75, said: "I had all of my alarms checked and they actually said to me that when I go to bed, I should take my keys up with me and then I can drop them down out of the window if there was a fire.
"I was out when the fire actually happened and I didn't really know the people there. I just hope that everybody is okay and that the damage isn't too bad."
Another resident who did not want to be named said that he had two smoke alarms fitted by fire crews free of charge following Thursday's incident. He said that he had heard about the boy being taken to hospital and said that his thoughts were with his family.
A Nottinghamshire Police spokesperson added: "Emergency services were called to reports of a house fire in Coronation Road, Hucknall, shortly after 8.20am on Thursday, August 18. A boy was taken to hospital where he remains in a serious condition. There were no reports of any other injuries.
"The cause of the fire is not currently being treated as suspicious. An investigation remains ongoing but we are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with the incident."
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