Major incident declared as crews battled fire

12 taken to hospital overnight 

A major incident was declared last night as 25 fire personnel battled a fire in a four-storey residential building containing flats on Bucks Road, Douglas. 

Twelve people treated at the scene were later taken to Noble's Hospital for precautionary checks before being released. 

At around 3:40am, the Emergency Services Joint Control Room received reports of a fire, with three fire appliances, a turntable ladder and an Incident Command Unit mobilised from Douglas Fire Station.

On arrival, the incident commander identified that people were potentially trapped on the upper floors, and smoke could be seen issuing from the building.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were deployed to tackle the fire and carry out search and rescue operations. Two casualties were rescued from a top floor flat and brought to safety using the turntable ladder while two further breathing apparatus teams were deployed to support search and rescue and ventilation purposes.

A spokesperson said: "In total 12 casualties received initial treatment on scene from the Isle of Man Ambulance Service and were later transported to Nobles Hospital for precautionary checks.  Due to the number of casualties requiring treatment, a major incident was declared for a short period to coordinate the response.  

"All casualties have now been discharged from hospital."

At the height of the incident, 25 Fire & Rescue personnel were deployed, supported by colleagues from the IOM Ambulance Service, ESJCR, IOM Constabulary and Emergency Planning. 

To maintain emergency response resilience across the Island, a further fire appliance was relocated from Laxey to Douglas Fire Station to provide operational cover.

An initial indication suggests the fire may be linked to a bathroom extractor fan, however an investigation remains ongoing at this time.