Residents evacuated in arson drama
Residents had to be evacuated after a house was guttted in an arson attack.
The home next-door was also damaged after the fire was started in a garden shed and spread to the row of terraced homes in Cotmanhay on Monday night.
The owner of the gutted house in Nelson Street is in Spain. He has been contacted and was due to return yesterday.
Next-door neighbour Kerry Houghton helped fire crews evacuate nearby homes after raising the alarm at 11.15pm.
The fire is thought to have been started in a garden shed, which then spread to a hedge and to the eaves of the empty end-terraced house.
The shed contained a motorbike belonging to the owner of the house, who neighbours believe is away while the house is being refurbished.
Ms Houghton, 39, and son, Kieran, 20, raised the alarm on Monday night.
Kerry said: "My son woke me up and shouted for me to come out and see.
"We rang the fire brigade and then helped the lady who lives next door to the house to get her kids out.
Kieran said: "I heard a bang and I could see flames coming from the shed.
"My first thought is that it's kids - you sometimes get them starting fires on the fields at the back of these houses, but there's never usually any trouble."
The adjacent house suffered water damage during the blaze.
Matt Revel, station commander at Ilkeston Community Fire Station, said: "We were initially called out to a shed fire, but when we arrived. we realised it had spread to the property and had become a very involved fire. The crews were there quite a while.
"The fire was started deliberately in the shed by persons unknown."
The actual cause of the fire has yet to be established.
Four fire engines from Ilkeston, Ripley, Long Eaton and an aerial ladder platform from Derby Kingsway were used to fight the fire.
Police are now investigating.
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Weather for Ilkeston
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
