'It's just so traumatic' - Residents react to Walsall house fire that saw five people taken to hospital, including a child with 'potentially life-threatening injuries'

The fire broke out in a two-storey flat in a terraced block on Redwood Road in the Yew Tree Estate in Walsall on Saturday night (March 15), with firefighters from nine fire stations from across the region called into action at around 10.20pm to tackle the blaze.

During the incident, which was described by West Midlands Fire Service as "significant", 19 firefighters were involved in tackling the fire, which had broken out in the hallway on the ground floor and then spread upwards, and rescued nine people from the flat.

The rescue saw four people rescued from the block via a ladder, with 10 people in total assessed at the scene and a child found to have sustained potentially life-threatening injuries.

He received advanced trauma care from ambulance staff at the scene before being conveyed to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, while four other people were assessed and treated for smoke inhalation, then taken to Walsall Manor Hospital for further assessment.

The fire was eventually put out by the firefighters, but had left significant damage to the two storey flat and was still being checked crews into the early hours of Sunday morning, checking for hot spots and damping down.

It was the second incident to happen on the road, with a fish and chip shop being hit by shots from a gun in February, and a police presence was still visible on Sunday morning, with a van parked next to the burnt out door and ground floor area.

Among residents and people visiting the area while walking or going to the shops, there was a feeling of sadness and shock at what had happened.

One couple who live on the terraced block, but asked not to be named, said they had heard shouting during the night and then seen the dramatic aftermath.

They said: "We're just not able to properly talk about it as it's just so awful, but our maisonette isn't too far away from that flat and we've seen them out walking and our kids have played with their kids.

"We looked out of the window and we could see them being laid out and treated by the ambulance crews and the child they brought out didn't look in a good state.