Fire Double Take

The man is thought to have forced his way into the Onyx premises at Harwood Road in a bid to search for a friend he feared was trapped in the burning building.

One of the first fire crews to arrive at the scene found the man collapsed inside the building, brought him out and had to restrain him to stop him returning.

Minutes later, as he was being treated by ambulance officers, the man ran into the blazing structure again and had to be rescued a second time by firefighters.

In fact, there was no one else in the premises, and the injured man was taken to hospital for treatment.

Around 75 firefighters tackled the blaze in difficult conditions of strong winds and heavy rain.

With the gusts blowing smoke and flames towards nearby flats at Chapel Close, the decision was taken to evacuate the homes, and more than 20 residents were looked after in the neighbouring Wickbourne Chapel.

Two fire crews from Littlehampton were joined by East Preston, Arundel, Worthing and Bognor firefighters after Chapel Close resident Doreen Jones raised the alarm at 11.37pm.

There was great concern about two welding gas cylinders inside the building and they had to be brought out before firefighters wearing breathing apparatus could start to work on the flames.

To find out who reported the blaze and the effect on residents, see the Gazette, February 28.