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| Meter 'tampering' link to street fire A fire which left about 25 Greater Manchester residents homeless may have been caused by someone tampering with an electricity meter. Fire crews were called to Cranbrook Street, in the Clarksfield area of Oldham, shortly before 1800 GMT on Sunday. But the fire soon spread through the roof space to seven neighbouring properties, forcing a "large-scale evacuation" to a nearby church hall. An investigation into the cause by the Greater Manchester Fire Service indicates the most likely cause is faulty wiring. Spokesman Ian Bayley said: "Initial enquiries were leading us to believe the fire may have been started deliberately. "But subsequently we found an electricity meter has been bypassed by somebody and the wiring and the subsequent fuses used were incompatible. "We believe this has caused some form of overheating in the immersion heater in the back bedroom and has led to the cause of the fire." A police spokesman said no one is believed to have been injured in the fire while those left homeless had been found temporary council accommodation. Divisional Officer Stephen Partington, from the Greater Manchester Fire Service, said: "It started in an empty house in the middle of the row. "Obviously it's done a lot of damage and put a lot of people out on the street and we need to know how this started." It took more than 50 firefighters several hours to bring the flames under control. 21st January 2002 |
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