Man dies in house blaze in Wednesbury as strike gets under way
An elderly man has died during after becoming overcome by smoke in a house fire in Wednesbury, as a national strike by firefighters started.
Firefighters were called to the kitchen fire in a terraced house at 7.11pm yesterday, just over an hour after industrial action began.
It happened on Carisbrooke Road, Friar Park. Smoke damage was visible at the scene today.
The fire service said it had 17 appliances through the night to respond to incidents across the region.
Area Commander Simon Shilton said: "It was a busy and challenging night. We attended more than 40 incidents and our limited resources were stretched at times.
"Sadly, we attended one incident in which an elderly man had died. It appears that he had been overcome by smoke from a slow-burning fire in his kitchen. The fire was out when we got there and had occurred several hours earlier.
"There was also a fire at a factory in Walsall. Crews were there for more than three hours. At this stage the cause has yet to be determined."
It started at Atlas Refurb, The Green, Darlaston, at just after 3.10am.
It caused damage to around five per cent of the building although most of it was smoke logged.
Other incidents during the action included a saucepan fire in Dudley, conifers ignited by a firework in Cradley Heath, and a car fire and a crash in Tipton.
The 96-hour strike from 6pm on Friday is by part of the Fire Brigades Union's their national dispute with the Government over pensions.
The action is due to end at 6pm on Tuesday.
