Holme Wood hit by spate of fires (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Two arrested following spate of fires

10:40am Monday 8th February 2010 in Bradford By Will Kilner

Two people have been arrested following a series of fires in Bradford over the last 24 hours.

The three house fires and one car fire are all being treated as supicious and a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy have both been arrested on suspicion of arson.

Two houses and a car went up in flames as firemen tackled three fires on a Bradford housing estate in the early hours of this morning.

The fires all happened within a short distance of each other in the Holme Wood area.

In the first incident, a 78-year-old man was rescued from his burning house by neighbours and firemen just after 1am.

The pensioner was asleep upstairs in his bedroom when the blaze broke out on the ground floor of his home at Moorcroft Drive, off Tong Street.

Neighbours put a ladder up against the house and smashed the sleeping man’s window to alert him to the blaze. Firemen from Odsal and Bradford then took over the rescue and helped the man to safety.

He was taken by ambulance to Bradford Royal Infirmary suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.

About 15 minutes later, firemen were called to another house fire in nearby Leamside Walk, Holme Wood.

Crews from Bradford and Cleckheaton used two breathing apparatus and a hose reel jet as they tackled the fire, which affected about 10 per cent of the building.

One person suffered from smoke inhalation during the incident at about 1.23am.

Another blaze broke out at about 3.15am just one street away in Wansford Close, Holme Wood.

A Fiat car that was parked on a driveway was badly damaged during the blaze, which started while the vehicle’s owner was asleep in bed.

With crews in Bradford already busy with the previous jobs, firemen from Batley were called into the area to tackle the car fire.

Chris Linley, watch manager at Odsal fire station, said: “It was a busy night. There was quite a bit happening in Holme Wood.”

He praised the quick actions of the neighbours who helped to rescue the elderly man in Moorcroft Drive.

Mr Linley said: “The neighbours did a really good job by putting a ladder up to his window and getting the double glazing out.

"We took over the rescue but they had already smashed his window. I have recommended them for a letter of appreciation.

Det Insp Ian Bryar, who is appealing for witnesses, said: "We're investigating the possibility that all four fire may be linked."

Anyone with information should contact Bradford South CID on 0845 60 60 606.