Fire "looked worse than it was" (From Worcester News)

Fire "looked worse than it was"

9:33am Tuesday 7th February 2012 in News By Elizabeth Sweetman, @lizsweetmanWN #worcsnews

A THREE-storey building had to be evacuated last night after smoke was seen billowing from a ground floor bedroom window.

Firefighters were called to the semi-detached property, in Battenhall Road, off London Road in Worcester, at 9.15pm to a “severe” electrical fire which had taken hold in the basement.

The alarm was raised by residents who were all safely evacuated from the building, which is split into four bed sits and two self-contained flats.

Three crews from Worcester attended the scene and the fire was brought under control in 20 minutes by six firefighters wearing breathing apparatus.

An ambulance also attended as a matter of course, but no-one had to be treated at the scene.

Watch commander Dave Smith said the situation looked worse than it was.

He confirmed that all residents were safely evacuated and would probably not be spending the night at the property.