Five adults and six children escape Smethwick house fire as man and child taken to hospital

A man and a baby were taken to hospital after the blaze in Astbury Avenue, which broke out on the first floor of a two-storey terraced property on Monday afternoon.

Fire crews attended the blaze shortly after 4.30pm and found the building “engulfed in smoke”.

Four fire engines, three 4×4 emergency vehicles and an aerial hydraulic platform were called to the scene.

A total of five adults and six children had already escaped from the property before fire crews arrived.

Firefighters treated a man suffering from smoke inhalation and minor burns with oxygen therapy and a child for “mild smoke inhalation” before handing both over to paramedics.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “We were called to reports of a fire at a property on Astbury Avenue in Smethwick at 5pm.

“An ambulance was dispatched to the scene where, upon arrival, crews found there were two patients requiring evaluation: a male and an infant. Both were checked by the ambulance staff and transported to the Municipal Hospital”.

Fire crews cordoned off Astbury Avenue until around 7pm on Monday, with residents being urged to avoid the area.

A West Midlands Fire Service spokesman added: “Firefighters extinguished the blaze and checked two neighboring properties for further fire spread, but both were declared clear.

“Crews doused and left the incident at 9.35pm.”