Brighton seafront flats evacuated after fire

Dozens of people were evacuated from a nine-storey block of flats on Brighton seafront this evening (Thursday 12 December) after a fire on the third floor.

The blaze started in Flat 37 in the rear north-east corner of the building.

Six fire engines and an incident control unit were sent to Embassy Court close to the Brighton and Hove border.

Incident commander Tony McCord praised the officers from Sussex Police who reached the flats first.

He said: “The police did a really good job when they turned up evacuating the lower floors.”

No one was injured and everyone was accounted for, he said.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service received the first call at about 8.15pm and had the fire under control within 40 minutes.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known and a fire investigation officer has been asked to look into it.

Two crews attended from Hove, two from Preston Circus, in Brighton, one from Roedean and another from Shoreham.