Costa Blanca flats evacuated after lift shaft blaze

A TEN-STOREY apartment block on the Costa Blanca was evacuated after a fire broke out in a lift shaft.

Sixty people had to leave their homes in Campello while four others on the ninth floor had to take refuge on their apartment terraces while firemen fought the blaze in order to reach them.

Once the fire was extinguished they were taken to safety together with three dogs and a cat.

The building was soon filled with smoke seeping from the lift shaft and stairwell and two people had to be treated for smoke inhalation, emergency service sources said afterwards.

The blaze was extremely fierce on the ninth floor, creating intense heat, firefighters revealed.  The damage was made even worse by wood panelling in

the passageway that added to the intensity of the fire.

Work was going on in the building at the time and the lift had been covered with cork to protect it, provincial media sources reported later.  Witnesses said that they had also seen a mechanic inspecting the lift that day.

Residents on the ninth floor are now waiting for Campello town hall to verify its state after firemen recommended that this zone should remain unoccupied until a thorough inspection could be made.