Wildfires across the West Midlands have left 19 people in hospital and destroyed up to seven homes in Stourbridge, with hundreds of residents, including care home patients, forced to evacuate overnight as families described watching their properties go up in flames.
Nineteen people have been taken to hospital after wildfires broke out across the West Midlands, the region’s ambulance service has confirmed. The fires caused severe damage in Stourbridge, where residents have been assessing the destruction to their homes and belongings following the blaze. Dudley Council, which covers the town, said between 250 and 300 residents were evacuated overnight, including patients from three local care homes.
Families describe losing everything
Among those affected was Andrew Reynolds, who said he watched his childhood home on Gorleston Road, where his mother, Kim Matthews, lives, go up in what he described as an “inferno” alongside neighbouring properties. “My mum’s lost everything. Absolutely everything. There’s nothing saveable,” Reynolds said.
Matthews had lived in the property for 34 years and had kept many family heirlooms stored in the loft, which was destroyed in the fire. Describing the scale of the loss, Reynolds said: “Everyone’s gutted, grieving, people have lost so much and no-one can go in to see if they can salvage anything.” He added that among the items lost were “100 years’ worth of photos from the family.”
Evacuations across Stourbridge
Dudley Council confirmed that between 250 and 300 residents in Stourbridge were evacuated as a result of the fires overnight, a figure that included patients and staff from three care homes in the community. Among those evacuated were 22 care home residents and 19 members of staff, who were relocated to the Old Swinford Hospital boarding school for safety.
The council said six or seven homes have been confirmed destroyed by the fires so far, with further assessments ongoing as the full extent of the damage becomes clear.
