‘The ceiling’s caved in’: Newcastle students’ house destroyed as fire spreads through flats

A student flat housing four girls from Newcastle and Northumbria universities has been destroyed after a fire spread through a block of flats on Tuesday evening (9th December).

All four residents were able to evacuate the property safely, but the extent of the damage means they have been left without a home in Newcastle.

The fire is thought to have started at a Chillingham Road takeaway before spreading to the flats above, with firefighters arriving within four minutes of a call to emergency services being made.

Firefighters confirmed the fire had spread to Thea’s attic

Thea, one of the girls living in the Heaton flat and a third year Northumbria University student, described how events unfolded, saying the group initially thought the fire wasn’t “that big of a deal”.

She told The Newcastle Tab: “We first noticed in the top attic room it smelt like smoke and [we] looked out the window and there was fire coming out of the extractor fan from the takeaway that’s below next door’s flat.

“We didn’t think it was that big of a deal because it seemed like a small fire, then the smoke got way worse and we grabbed our laptops and went outside.”

When the girls got outside, Thea says someone from the takeaway below had already called the fire service, who had arrived on the scene. However, she doesn’t think “anyone had realised it had spread to the attics in the houses” until the girls noticed the smoke in their flat.

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A firefighter checked their property and confirmed the fire, which is when they understood that the blaze had spread to the roof of their flat as well as the one next door.

The Northumbria student said they only realised the full extent of the damage once they were allowed back into the property after the fire had been extinguished. Accompanied by a firefighter as she went inside, Thea recalled: “One bedroom is missing parts of the wall and roof, there’s flooding and ash covering the rest of the house and the kitchen ceiling has caved in.”

Thea described how the kitchen ceiling in the property ‘has caved in’

They were permitted to enter again the following day after a council inspection, where they were met by their estate agents.

The four students say they’ve been left with no choice but to move back home for the remainder of the semester. Thea praised their estate agents and landlord for their handling of the matter, saying the students have been told they will not be expected to pay rent for the period they are displaced, will receive their deposit and will be rehoused if any properties of similar value are available.

Thea and another student posted TikToks about the incident, which have since gone viral, reaching 336,600 and 78,700 views respectively.

A spokesperson from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said: “We can confirm that on Tuesday, December 9th, five appliances attended a fire in Newcastle.

“The emergency call was received by our Control Room team at 18:16pm and crews from Byker, Gosforth, Marley Park, Gateshead and South Shields Community Fire Stations were dispatched, with the first arriving within four minutes.

“The fire was centred around a commercial premises and spread to the roof of flats above.

“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus safely extinguished the fire using hose reels, jets and an Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP). Positive pressure ventilation (PPV) was also used to clear the building of smoke.

“Crews left the scene shortly after 21:50pm.”