INVESTIGATIONS continue this afternoon at a fire-ravaged block of flats in Mathews Way, Paganhill, where one person died.

Six fire crews attended the scene just before 6pm yesterday, Wednesday, May 19, at which point the fire was said to be well alight within one top floor flat of the three-storey block.

One person was rescued from this flat and taken to hospital while the remaining occupant was already deceased.

The identity and gender of both is not yet known.

The coroner has been informed and the Home Office Pathologist has visited the scene.

Chief superintendent Gary Thompson said: "This incident is now the subject of a detailed investigation by Gloucestershire constabulary with the support of the Gloucestershire fire and rescue service.

"It is not yet known how the fire started. We are doing all we can to find the cause and a specialist, trained in identifying the cause of fires, is now assisting with the investigation.

"The safety of all evacuated residents is paramount and we would like to pass on our thanks to them for their patience whilst the investigation is ongoing.

"We will do all we can to support them, with our partner agencies, during this difficult time."

Firefighters spent around one hour tackling the blaze but remained on site until around 12.30am this morning to ensure the scene was left in a safe condition for investigations to be carried out.

Six other residents and one dog from neighbouring flats were evacuated from within the 18-flat block, where at least two residents are understood to have children.

A time-scale on re-homing is not yet known as the area is still being treated as a crime scene.

The affected one-bedroom flat is one of two privately owned dwellings with the 50-year-old block – the rest of which are under Stroud District Council’s ownership.

A spokesman for SDC said: "The property where the fire started is not a council owned property.

"It is a lease hold, therefore SDC is not responsible for checking the smoke detectors or fire safety – this would be the lease holder’s responsibility."

He added that the council-owned areas within the block were last fire checked on March 9 this year.

Debbie Young, SDC’s cabinet member for housing, visited the scene this morning to meet evacuated residents at Maypole Hall.

"I want to thank the emergency services for the swift way they handled the situation and for ensuring the evacuation went very smoothly," she said.

"I also want to thank SDC staff and everyone at the Maypole centre for putting up the affected residents."

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