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Firefighters battled a fierce blaze on a quiet residential street in Broadstairs on Thursday evening, rescuing a family pet and handing two people over to paramedics after flames gutted a house on Carlton Avenue.
Emergency services rushed to the scene just after six o’clock on Thursday, 6 August, following desperate calls reporting a house fire. Kent Fire and Rescue Service deployed five fire engines to the Thanet neighbourhood, where crews immediately encountered heavy smoke and flames billowing from the property.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus braved the intense heat, utilizing high-pressure hose reel jets and main jets to tackle the seat of the blaze. Crews also deployed positive pressure ventilation fans to drive back dense smoke and clear the property as the multi-agency operation unfolded alongside Kent Police, South East Coast Ambulance Service, and gas safety engineers.
Two casualties suffering from minor burns and smoke inhalation were treated at the scene before being passed into the care of South East Coast Ambulance Service paramedics. Meanwhile, firefighters made a dramatic rescue inside the smoke-filled building, safely retrieving a cat and reuniting the unharmed pet with its owners.
The emergency response lasted nearly two hours, with crews finally bringing the incident under control and securing the area by 7:48 PM. The cause of the destructive fire remains unknown, and an investigation into how the blaze started is currently ongoing.