by Gerry Warren

Fourteen residents were taken to hospital after breathing in smoke when a fire broke out in a Canterbury residential care home.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus rescued 26 residents from the property in Ethelbert Road shortly before 11pm on Monday and had to give oxygen to some of the old people at the scene.

The fire broke out in a ground floor laundry room of the property and four appliances - two from Canterbury, one from Chilham and one from Sturry - were called to the scene.

Crew Manager Steve Davies said: “The staff had put their emergency plans into action and we quickly identified where the fire was and where the residents were.

“There was a lot of smoke but we managed to contain the blaze to the laundry room and it was extinguished in half an hour.

“Crews were busy carrying a number of residents to safety and there were several who needed oxygen therapy but everyone was accounted for.”

The cause of the blaze is believed to be a fire in a tumble dryer.

Home manager Terri Wall said: “The firefighters were marvellous and did a fantastic job. I’m pleased our staff were so on-the-ball too and I thank them for the way they acted and conducted themselves.

“I’d also like to say a big thank you to all the staff involved at Kent and Canterbury hospital for all their kindness and hard work. I’m very relieved to say that all the residents were back with us the next morning enjoying a cup of tea.”

Canterbury Station Manager Dave Clipstone said: “I believe we had a successful outcome to this incident due to the swift response from the crews.

"Our firefighters train regularly for a range of incidents but this was a difficult job because of the large number of residents who needed assistance and the fact that no-one was seriously hurt is testament to the excellent job they performed.”