'Blocked off' Fire chiefs deny claims crews were delayed reaching blaze by LN trial

Fire chiefs in Bristol have played down claims by local residents that fire crews were delayed reaching a house fire in East Bristol by roadblocks created as part of the local ‘Liveable Neighbourhood’ trial. The fire, which gutted a house in Barton Hill, broke out on Wednesday morning.

- Tristan CORK

THE chiefs in Bristol have played down claims by local residents that fire crews were delayed reaching a house fire in East Bristol by roadblocks created as part of the local ‘Liveable Neighbourhood’ trial.

The Post understands the woman living in the house managed to escape the home before the fire took hold, and local residents rushed from their homes to see what they could do to help the situation, as fire crews rushed to the scene.

What happened in those minutes between the first 999 calls and the arrival at the scene of the fire by fire engines from Avon Fire and Rescue Service is now the subject of speculation by local residents, particularly those who have been opposed to the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood trial scheme.

The first 999 call came at 11.25am on Wednesday morning. A spokesperson for Avon Fire and Rescue said its first fire engine ‘arrived on the scene within our response standard of eight minutes’.

The location of the house that was ablaze is right at the heart of one of the biggest infrastructure changes that are part of the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood. It was located in the middle of a terrace of homes on Cabot Green, which forms two sides of a triangle shaped area of grass opposite Barton Hill’s Wellspring Settlement community centre.