A wheelie bin fire on Draper’s Lane tackled by the Fire Brigade at about 2:45am this morning seems to have been the work of arsonists and could have had tragic consequences for the two flats and families concerned (each flat had small children sleeping).
Fortunately nobody got hurt but the results could have been different had neighbours not spotted and alerted the fire brigade.
The design of the two storey flats in Draper’s Lane greatly increases the risk of families being trapped in upstairs flats during fires. The stairways
are the only means of quick escape.
Another flat a few doors away had its wheelie bin set alight about 5-6 months ago. This morning’s fire therefore raises fears about a local arsonist possibly being active.
This will raise the question of whether a Neighbourhood Watch scheme or something similar would be beneficial for the area? Local families would certainly benefit from reviewing their ‘fire escape plans‘.
i think we need to work on developing some type of fireproof wheelie bin in the future
Being 4th generation Hedon and having lived in most areas including the flats mentioned in the arson attempt , i can see there is a great need for some sort of tenants association on the westlands estate,as you can see from the pictures the bins in question are brown ones…for garden waste…..why would these flats be in possesion of such bins there are no gardens.. just grass fronts mowed by the council…what a waste of public money…which would be better funding some sort of tenants associstion..which would have addressed the bin situation before this happened … these flats have nowhere to put the two current bins never mind a totally useless garden waste bin … maybe a safe area in one of the now unused clothes drying areas would be a good idea… its not rocket science, the decline in the five years since i left the flats is unbelievable i genuinely feel for the decent people living there and feel the council are not helpin at all.