PEOPLE on their way home from a Saturday night out helped control a fire in a Worcester bedsit - minutes before the fire brigade arrived.
The fire in a ground floor flat in Castle Street was thought to have been started by a "carelessly disposed" cigarette.
Three fire appliances and a turntable ladder from Hereford and Worcester Fire Brigade were called to the scene around 11.45pm on Saturday, October 19.
"Some passers-by took dry powder fire extinguishers from the nearby garage and partially subdued the fire just before we got there," said leading firefighter Robert Hardwick, of Worcester's Blue Watch.
"There was a bit of mayhem when we arrived but no one was left in the building.
"We suspect it was due to a carelessly disposed cigarette. If it had happened in two weeks time when we're on dispute it might have had a different ending.
"More of the building might have become involved but we confined it to one room. The whole of that building was affected by smoke and we had to use positive pressure ventilation to clear it.
"It was a severe fire with large volumes of smoke."
The fire brigade were at the scene until 1.15am yesterday.
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