War Office Road house fire - latest news

Crews were called to War Office Road at around 5.10am and found an end terraced property on fire and partially collapsed

All residents have been accounted for following a fire and partial collapse of a terraced house in Bamford, Rochdale.

Two men, aged 63 and 36, were rescued from the property earlier this morning (Tuesday, July 30).

The 36-year-old remains in hospital and the 63-year-old has been discharged after treatment.

A woman, believed to be aged 74, was also suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation but she declined hospital treatment.

A fourth man, whose whereabouts was initially unknown, has since been located elsewhere.

Fire crews were called to War Office Road at around 5.10am and found an end terraced property on fire and partially collapsed, with people believed to be inside.

Firefighters tackled the fire and stopped it spreading to other homes, and specialist teams searched the building.

The area has been made safe to allow an investigation to take place and crews are likely to be on the scene for the rest of the afternoon.

Area Manager Wayne Shields said: "Something has happened in an end terraced property - a row of four houses - that's caused the gable end of the house to completely collapse, causing severe structural damage to that property and a severe fire on the first floor, which spread into the roof space of the house next door.

"We used an aerial platform and four jets to extinguish the fire and stop it spreading into the other properties.

"Due to the structural damage of that end terraced house it wasn’t safe enough to send firefighters inside, so we used the Urban Search and Rescue Team and search and rescue dog Ace to carry out a systematic search.

"It's far too early to say what's happened, but we have been working with National Grid and North West Electricity.

"We also have community safety teams and volunteers at the scene to reassure the community and offer advice."