AN ELDERLY woman from Tadley has spoken out about feeling ‘abandoned’ by her housing provider following a suspected arson attack at her sheltered housing complex.

Queenie Gomez was one of the residents at Bishopswood Close who was forced to evacuate her flat on Tuesday evening (March 22) when a fire broke out in the building’s bin shed, which was reportedly overflowing with waste.

The 92-year-old lives alone in the flat directly above the affected area, said she was “frightened” as she followed the instructions of housing provider VIVID and remained in her property when the fire broke out.

“I thought at first, when the fire alarm went off, that it was just a test, but they normally do it on a Monday,” she said.

“I was watching TV. My daughter Vanessa and her husband had been over to see me, and headed home and I was going to do some laundry.”

She continued: “They [VIVID] told us that, when something happens, do not leave your flat until somebody calls you.”

Mrs Gomez, who suffers with rheumatoid arthritis and uses a walking stick, said that as the blaze spread upwards, she was unable to close her top window to keep out the smoke.

“I could see the flames, it was quite scary because I am living on my own. I’ve not got a very strong chest and it wasn’t doing my lungs any good,” she said.

“I thought the window was going to burst any moment, with the flames leaping up.”

Thankfully, a neighbour soon came knocking on her door, and assisted her in evacuating. Residents banded together to make sure that those unable to return to their flats straight away were comfortable, bringing chairs and cups of tea.

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“I was waiting for somebody from VIVID to call me, but then a neighbour banged on the door and said we need to go outside,” recalled Mrs Gomez.

“We have been abandoned by VIVID, we have to look after each other. It used to be lovely when I first came here. There was so much attention. There were wardens, and more people around. They blamed it on Covid at the start, but it’s just carried on.”

One ground floor flat was severely damaged by the fire, with the resident moved to alternative accommodation. Luckily, after spending one night with her daughter in Baughhurst, Mrs Gomez was able to return to her flat on Wednesday.

However, she says that this is the third fire to have occurred at the bin shed since she moved in more than 12 years ago, and added that such incidents could be prevented if VIVID acted.

“It’s happened three time since I have been living here. The first two were smaller fires, which were dealt with easily” she said.

“Quite a lot of children accumulate around this area, and after the second one they put CCTV up, but it needs to go all around the building, because we are vulnerable people!

“I don’t normally go down to the bin shed, but others have told me that it was right up to the ceiling with rubbish. We’ve all been talking to [VIVID] for ages about doing something about that.”

Mrs Gomez added that she was “satisfied” with the attention she has received from the company since the incident. They have checked all the wiring in her flat, and brought her flowers and air freshener.

“Maybe they are feeling guilty!” she said.

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Hampshire Constabulary confirmed they were called to the incident at 7pm on March 22. A spokesperson added: “The fire is suspected to have been set deliberately, and enquiries remain ongoing into the circumstances.”

Three fire engines attended just before 6.20pm.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said that some residents were evacuated and firefighters wore breathing apparatus to put the fire out using hose reel jets.

Jonathan Cowie, chief operating officer at VIVID said, “We were concerned to hear about the fire in the bin store at Bishopswood Court earlier this week. We’re assisting the Fire Brigade in its investigations into the cause.

"It’s very unlikely the quantity of bin bags caused the fire or made it worse, usually fires of this nature occur because of arson or flammable items that haven’t been fully extinguished.”

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