Bolton firefighters at flat blaze in Astley Bridge

A FIRE ripped through a flat this afternoon.

Firefighters were called to Blackbank Street, just off Blackburn Road, at around noon.

Crews from Bolton Central Fire Station and Bolton North attended.

Crew manager at Bolton North, Peter Wilmot said: “It was a first-floor flat fire in the kitchen area.

“Where the oven should have been, there was a quilt cover underneath the hob, which we believe caught fire and spread through the kitchen.

“The gas wasn’t hooked up to the cooker, so the gas pipe was just behind the quilt cover. He was lucky it wasn’t worse.”

He said the fire gave off thick smoke as crews fought the blaze.

Mr Wilmot said: “It took place at about 12 o’clock, early afternoon. We put it out quite quickly.

“The guy was outside and there was heavy smoke by the time we got there, so we had a lot of digging out and cutting out the affected areas.”

No one was hurt in the fire.

Crew Manager Wilmot added: “The guy in the flat below had just a bit of water recess from our work, but no one was harmed.”