Calls for action after blaze at ‘eyesore’ Tingley house
SMOKE: A man watches as smoke from the Syke Road fire rises.
CALLS for something to be done about derelict houses in Tingley have intensified following a fire in one of them.
Fire crews from Morley and Hunslet battled for over three hours to get the fire on Syke Road under control on Wednesday night.
Boarded-up houses on Wharfedale Rose and Syke Road were earlier this month branded eyesores by Coun Neil Dawson, Labour councillor for Morley South, who asked Leeds City Council to include them in their £500,000 scheme to tackle such sites.
Following the fire he said: “I was speaking to the council’s legal department yesterday to get some work moved on this so we can issue an order on the owners to do something about the state of the houses.
“There seems to be some stalling going on somewhere but they are deteriorating by the week.
He added: “There was another fire about a fortnight ago, so it’s the second in two weeks and I know the residents are very concerned about the state of the buildings and so I am trying urgently to get something done.”
Morley Crew Commander Andy Ambler said because the houses are boarded up and set back from the road, by the time the fire service was called at around 6.40pm, the fire had taken hold.
“The flames were coming out of every window and were so intense we couldn’t gain access and had to fight it from outside,” he said, adding: “
It took quite a while to get it under control, it was a good three quarters of an hour before we could say we had it properly under control.”
Syke Road was blocked off by the police to keep curious onlookers away and keep the road clear for the fire engines.
A community support officer was also posted to prevent people using the snicket connecting Syke Road and Wharfedale Rise for fear that the building might collapse.
Jim Rowlands, 65, who lives on Wharfedale Rise, said: “Me and my friend were just coming back from the pub when we saw it. There was smoke everywhere.
“This is the third time it’s happened recently - there are always kids going in and out of there, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they had something to do with it.”
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
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Thursday 23 May 2013
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