Bed-ridden residents rescued from burning care home

Police and fire-fighters rescued 14 elderly residents from Abbey Cheam Care Centre, nine of whom were bed-ridden, after the care home in Sutton caught fire.

Police joined London Fire Brigade officers in rescuing residents from the burning care home in The Avenue, Cheam, shortly after 2am on Wednesday, 22 April.

Emergency response officers from Sutton Police station were called by London Fire Brigade and arrived to find fire fighters hosing the blazing roof at the Abbey Cheam Care Centre in Cheam, whilst other fire officers evacuated the five residents on the first floor.

Police officers immediately entered the building and lifted nine residents from their beds on the ground floor - removing drips and catheters to do so. They carried them outside the building to safety.

Police Duty Inspector, Peter Stewart-Maunder, praised his team for their bravery, and said: “We were running into the care home and removing bed-ridden residents. Many of the residents were attached to various pieces of medical equipment. Their safe removal took some considerable time and effort - making the actions of officers all the more praiseworthy.

“It was very hot in there and you could feel the heat of the water dripping through onto your hands from the fire above.

“The actions of our officers were above and beyond and helped to ensure that all the residents were removed safely without loss of life or serious injury.”

Only one resident was treated for mild shock.

Fire Station manager Simon Brownings who was at the scene said: “When they arrived our crews were faced with a serious fire which was affecting the top floor and roof space of the nursing home. Firefighters worked hard to bring it under control and thankfully the property was safely evacuated with no injuries to anyone involved.”

A neighbour in The Avenue looked after all the residents in his house until transportation could be arranged with Sutton Council to take the residents to Abbey Total Care Group’s other care homes in Wallington and Banstead. The neighbour’s entire family rallied around to help the residents and make them comfortable.

The last residents, who were aged in the 70s and 80s, had been transported to other care homes by 5:30am. Three members of staff were also evacuated safely.

Around 30 firefighters from Mitcham, New Malden, Wallington, Sutton and Purley fire stations plus six fire engines attended the fire and police in Sutton called in support from officers in two nearby boroughs - Wimbledon and Kingston.

Police are not treating the fire as suspicious and London Fire Brigade is continuing to investigate the cause of the fire.

The fire left the care home's roof gutted and badly damaged the first floor of the two storey home.

Abbey Cheam Care Centre recently received an award from carehome.co.uk for being the fifteenth best recommended home in the whole of London, where there are 1,636 care homes.