ONE elderly woman died and 13 other trapped people were rescued from thick smoke when fire broke out in sheltered housing in Prestwood on Friday.

The tragedy happened at Cherry Orchard, a 30-flat complex in Maybush Gardens.

Firefighters were called at 5.10pm after a blaze was reported by the daughter of one of the residents in one of the ten ground floor-flats.

The blaze destroyed the flat and filled corridors with thick smoke, cutting off the escape route for many of the elderly occupants.

Almost 50 firefighters and police officers rushed to the scene as many old folk began suffering severe respiratory problems in the thick smoke.

The first fire crews to arrive, which came from Great Missenden and High Wycombe, had to wear breathing apparatus to carry out the rescue.

Eight firemen entered the three-storey building and carried out 12 people. Some of these were suffering from shock and the effects of breathing in smoke.

The rescue operation was made all the more difficult by the fact many of the trapped residents suffered from restricted mobility.

A 13th person - an 84-year-old woman who had undergone two hip replacements - was helped to safety by a mystery member of the public. She was lifted out of the window.

Firefighters continued to search the building until everyone was accounted for.

Paramedics treated five people at the scene. Two were then taken to hospital.

More fire crews were called in from Amersham, Gerrards Cross and Princes Risborough. A Command and Control Unit was set up at the scene because of the enormity of the incident. Relief crews carried out inspections every 45 minutes throughout the night.

The woman who died was in a flat several rooms away from the one that caught fire but was overcome by smoke.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Andy Hickmott: "This has been a tragic incident and our thoughts are with everyone who has been touched by it.

"Firefighters quickly brought the fire under control and mounted an outstanding rescue operation under difficult and exhausting circumstances."

He added: "But for the professionalism and thoroughness of the firefighters, there could have been many more deaths."

Police are currently assisting Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service with their investigation, but the fire is not being treated as suspicious.

There has been no confirmation as to the cause.

The dead woman has not been formally identified yet.

  • In a seperate incident an older woman died in a fire at a house on Brockley Hill in Stanmore on Sunday morning.

The London Fire Brigade said the blaze only damaged a small amount of the two storey building, but there was heavy smoke throughout.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.