Great Yarmouth man tells of panic as fire filled lobby of his flat with thick smoke
A man has been left homeless after his caravan was set alight. Picture: ARCHANT LIBRARY - Credit: Archant
A resident has described the feeling of panic as he watched the lobby of his Great Yarmouth flat fill with smoke.
Jamie Cosby, of Rodney Road, raised the alarm after a flaming bag of clothes filled his lobby and stairwell with thick smoke on Sunday, preventing him from escape.
After calling firefighters, Mr Cosby was told his safest option would be to shut himself in his flat and wait for rescue by his window.
Mr Cosby, 33, said: 'I was panicking. I've never seen smoke that thick before so it was very nerve-wracking.'
On arriving at the building, which contains 15 flats over three floors, firefighters put out the blaze and helped Mr Cosby escape the building by ladder.
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He added: 'The firefighters were very good - it was all over in about 45 minutes. They did a great job making sure everybody was okay.'
The fire broke out at around 8.15pm, with crews from Great Yarmouth, Gorleston and Acle attending.
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