Student from Wrexham reveals horrifying moment blaze tore through his halls of residence in Bolton

Luke Griffiths, from Gwersyllt, is a student at the University of Bolton and a resident at the Cube where a fire broke out on Friday evening.

The 19-year-old, who studies graphic design, said he came home from work at around 7.30pm and was making himself some food when he saw his corridor fill with smoke and the smoke alarm was going off.

He told the Leader: “At first I thought someone was messing around with a flare because it was weirdly coloured but when we looked out of the front window, we saw the fire starting to climb the walls.

Huge fire at the Cube in Bolton

“The girls staying in the room below where the fire was screamed to me to get everyone out. I got my friend out of the kitchen and realised that I didn’t know if anyone else was in the flat so I had to run back in and scream and try to kick their doors whilst the corridor was filling rapidly with smoke.

“It was just climbing through the building. I knew my friends sometimes slept through tea and I was really worried they would be asleep, so peace of mind more than anything, I made sure they weren’t in.

“Outside you could see people running trying to put it out and we thought it wouldn’t be as bad as what it was but then the fire engines turned up and when we walked to the front of the building we saw the debris falling off. That’s when we knew it was worse than we thought.”

More than 200 firefighters were seen fighting the blaze which quickly tore through the building ‘like a matchstick’.

An investigation is under way into the cause of the blaze.

Wrexham student Luke Griffiths

Luke said within two minutes of leaving, the door to his flat was completely in flames and he – along with many students – has lost all of his belongings, including vital university coursework.

He said: “No one else was in the flat thankfully but if I had left without checking and anything would have happened, I would have had unimaginable grief. If it hadn’t been for the students living on the floor below shouting and knocking doors I could have been trapped inside with no escape.

“I was just worried that someone would be stuck on their floor and I was worried about how people would get home; some people didn’t even have mobile phones. As soon as we knew we weren’t allowed back in I was helping people try and get home.

“I’ve had to come home to Wrexham for the weekend, but we are having a meeting at the university [this] week to see what they are going to do in terms of accommodation and coursework.

The Cube building in Bolton, as firefighters tackled the huge blaze

“No-one has been allowed back inside yet as it isn’t safe. The top floor has been completely destroyed.

“I just can’t believe how fast it spread; it was like a matchstick.

“As soon as I left the building, I called my parents and my mum was panicking badly but they ended up driving to Bolton and stayed in a hotel to bring me some clothes and things I needed.”

Footage from the scene suggests the fire started on the fourth floor of the six-storey building before spreading to the upper floors.

Some families who lived in an adjacent property were also evacuated.

Luke told the Leader that the main thoughts going through his mind was the safety of the other students.

He added: “I would just like to say how great the fire service was and a big thank you to them all.

“They were there within ten minutes. It could have been so much worse, and people could have been seriously hurt.”

Paramedics treated two people at the scene for minor injuries, including one person rescued by fire crews from an aerial platform, after the blaze broke out at about 8.30pm.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the privately owned building did not have the same type of cladding that combusted in the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017.

A fundraising page has been set up to help students who have lost all of their belongings. It has so far raised over £10,000.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so via www.justgiving.com/campaign/BoltonStudentFlatsFireAppeal