Questions remain five years after retirement home fire

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service says the fire is one of the largest its crews have ever attended

Five years on from a fire that destroyed a retirement complex in Cheshire, former residents say they still have questions about what happened on that day.

About 150 people were left homeless when a blaze tore through the Beechmere apartments in Crewe on 8 August 2019, destroying almost everything.

All were safely evacuated despite safety plans requiring residents, many of whom were elderly or vulnerable, to stay in their flats in the event of a fire.

A year ago charges were brought against six companies in relation to fire safety, but all of them have since made an application to have these dismissed.

Claire Bagnall said she still remembered getting a call in the afternoon to say her mother's home was on fire.

Like others, she said she had not expected the flames to spread as quickly as they did.

"We don’t feel like we got any real answers, I don’t think we ever will to be honest," she said.

All that remained was the skeletal frame of the building which was home to 150 residents

Ms Bagnall, whose mother is now 90, said despite the shock at the time, the local community pulled together.

"People were donating things, and the fire service and police and everything were so good and the neighbours helped get people out," she said.

Former Beechmere resident Diane Anderson, 79, remembered the "absolute horror" she felt after discovering there was a fire.

"It was so unbelievable, it was unimaginable," she said.

She said some residents were not immediately aware the complex had begun to go up in flames.

Even when they did start to realise there was a genuine emergency, they still did not evacuate straight away because there was a "stay put" policy in place which meant they were told to remain in their flats while it was dealt with.

Ms Anderson said she remembered two men running past her patio door, who told her to get out immediately - in contravention of the policy.

"There would have been fatalities if that stay put policy had not been broken," she said.

Despite that, she said there was no panic among the elderly occupants.

"I couldn’t even smell smoke," she said. "There was no noise - you heard the fire engine sounds but there was no noise of people or anything.

"I just sort of packed a mini picnic and just waited."

Speaking at the time of the blaze, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said the incident commander's decision to evacuate residents "undoubtedly saved lives".

The cause of the blaze was ruled accidental, although charges were brought against six companies over fire safety

Many residents have told the BBC about the strength of the community at Beechmere, with some saying its destruction felt like a "bereavement".

Ms Anderson added that some with dementia had struggled to comprehend what had happened.

Another resident Anne Bowden said she had treasured the community Beechmere offered.

"There was nowhere else like Beechmere in the whole area, it was fantastic," the 95-year-old said.

"The fields were just across the road and there were lovely walks."

She described the site as spacious, with a large garden, adding that many residents had vegetable patches or allotments.

Queues half a mile long

The wider community of Crewe came to the rescue in the wake of the fire.

Some residents were left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, but donations quickly came flooding in.

Paul Cartwright was assistant manager of Crewe Lifestyle Centre, which was used as an evacuation point for elderly residents.

"On the initial evening there was half a mile of queues of people just trying to donate things there and then," he said.

"You couldn't imagine the crowds and the queues of traffic around the building at the time, helping and wanting to help donate."

Staff were on-site overnight, to guide people and to arrange for food and blankets to be handed out.

An aerial view shows the extent of the damage caused by the fire in August 2019

Crewe and Nantwich MP Connor Naismith lived nearby at the time.

"It was really heartwarming to see that, in such a tragic incident in many ways, that the community really stepped in and put arms around each other," he said.

By the end of August, permanent homes were found for all the residents.

The fire service quickly revealed the fire had started accidentally on a patio area on the third floor and went internally up the wall structure and into the roof space.

The ongoing legal action means residents' questions about how it then spread so quickly throughout the building remain unanswered.

A hearing at Chester Crown Court in April 2024 was adjourned and a new date has yet to be set.

Many residents initially did not realise the extent of the fire but all were safely evacuated

The future of the site also seems unclear.

At the end of August 2019 Your Housing Group, which managed Beechmere, said it was committed to rebuilding the site.

A little over a year later Cheshire East Council approved a planning application to build new apartments, and work was expected to begin soon.

Almost four years later, however, it remains unbuilt.

In a statement this week, Your Housing said it continued "to work with [developers] Avantage and other partners involved in the Private Finanace Initiative (PFI), including the local authority and funders, to find a solution which will enable the rebuild of the Beechmere scheme".

Paula Marshall, Executive Director of Housing & Customer Service at Your Housing Group said the firm had done all it could since 2019 "to support customers, families and colleagues who were affected by the fire".

She said it had also funded fire safety works at other developments built as part of the same PFI project, adding the safety and wellbeing of customers was its "absolute priority".