Sadly, a woman lost her life in a fire at a North Shields residential building.
Not long before Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, who were responding to a fire on Vicarage Street, requested help from Northumbria Police.
Three individuals were brought to the hospital when police and emergency personnel arrived on the scene. Since then, one has been made available.
Regretfully, firemen discovered a fourth person’s body inside the residence. Although a formal identification has not yet been made, authorities think the victim is 18-year-old Leah Casson.
Currently, her family has been informed and is receiving assistance from specialised police personnel.
Police are currently examining the fire as possibly arson-related while they continue to look into what caused it.
Due to worries about structural safety, several residents had to be evacuated; they were provided with alternate housing.
The Northumbria Police’s Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Louise Jenkins, stated: “This is an incredibly tragic incident that has resulted in the death of a woman, left three other people seriously injured, and impacted a number of neighbours.”
“Since we initially got their request for help, we have been working nonstop with the support of our partners from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service to uncover exactly what transpired in those moments preceding the fire.
“Although our investigations are still preliminary, we are considering the incident as suspected arson for the time being and are not ruling anything out.
“We have specialised detectives working on the case who will do in-depth forensic investigations, watch CCTV, and consult with people to determine whether anyone may have witnessed what transpired in the moments before the fire.
“We are also requesting that anyone else who may be knowledgeable come forward and share what they know; even the smallest detail could be exactly what we need.”
“We can confirm that five crews from across Tyne and Wear and our Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) were on the scene to extinguish this fire in a matter of minutes,” said Phil Clark, Area Manager of Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS).
“When we arrived, three individuals had already managed to escape the residence on their own, and our teams set out right once to contain the fire and stop it from encroaching on other properties.
“After the fire was put out, our personnel found a fourth person inside the structure, but tragically, they had to declare her dead there.
“Everyone at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service is thinking of the friends and relatives of those affected, as well as the larger community in North Shields, as we support our colleagues at Northumbria Police with their investigation.
“We would like to express our gratitude to the firefighters who responded for their professionalism, and our personnel will be staying in the area for the next several days.
We would like to reiterate Northumbria Police’s request that anyone with knowledge regarding the circumstances surrounding this event get in contact.
The police are also requesting that anyone with information regarding the fire contact them by phone at 101 and mentioning log NP-20230116-0067, or by using the ‘Tell us Something’ feature on our website.
About The Author
