Reports of “smoke seen” at a residential tower block at Ipswich’s waterfront prompted a major response from the fire service – but no fire was found.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue dispatched six vehicles to Pearl Court in Barnard Square following the report at around 12.15pm.
Initial online reports from the brigade suggested 11 appliances had been sent.
Speaking at the scene, station commander Kevin Oxford confirmed no fire was found in either Pearl Court or the surrounding area. He said smoke was also not seen by the resident who called the fire brigade, but that an “unidentifiable” smell had been reported.
The cause of the smell, which has since dissipated, is not currently known. The building was not evacuated and between eight to 10 flats were investigated using thermal imaging cameras, he said.
The fire alarm had also not been activated, he said.
Due to the nature of the report, it was standard, pre-Grenfell Tower procedure for six appliances to attend the incident, he said.
He said the concerned resident “did the right thing” in reporting the incident. He said: “It was a good opportunity to reaffirm procedures and initial levels of response to this type of call. We got here very quickly and it worked very well.”
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