Woman dies in fire at art studio she turned into unofficial home
Wednesday February 24, 2010
By ROISIN GADELRAB
A WOMAN who was staying in a bohemian block of artist studios and workshops has died in a fire.
Polish-born Aleksandra Rosiak, 31, died after the blaze broke out in a second floor studio in Panther House, Mount Pleasant, off Gray's Inn Road, just before midnight on Sunday.
The building, formerly used by Charter 88, the Terrence Higgins Trust The Age of Stupid director Franny Armstrong, was not supposed to be for residential use.
Eyewitnesses described the studio Ms Rosiak was staying in as "a glorified store room", without even a real bed for her to sleep in.
It is not clear how long she was staying in the block and occupants of nearby studios said they did not know her.
As the building is used mainly as workshop space, it is generally empty at night
Although the cause of the fire is under investigation, police say they do not believe it to be suspicious.
Panther House manager Kevin Bailey said the run-down block will be refurbished in spring.
He said: "It's left a terrible cloud over everyone. It's quite upsetting. We could never have anticipated this. The police haven't been able to put their finger on exactly what happened. It makes you feel so disturbed."
Mr Bailey said the fire had been contained only to Ms Rosiak's studio, adding that people are not allowed to stay in the building: "As soon as they are found they are shown the door. It's like a glorified store room. If her existence had been known to any degree I would have been aware of her somewhat sooner and that would have required me to show her the door. This is a non-residential block and those found to be using it as such have their licences terminated."
One man, who worked in a design studio in the block, said: "I came in on Monday morning and it was a crime scene. The police had sealed off the corridor."
He added: "When the new owners took over they sent a note to everyone saying this is a commercial premises, don't live here. It's quite a grotty building but the units are as they need to be for the purposes of the people that use them."
Firefighters were called to the block at 11.45pm on Sunday, where they found Ms Rosiak unconscious. Oxygen masks and medical equipment were left in the corridor where they tried to revive her but, although she was taken to UCH Hospital Ms Rosiak was pronounced dead an hour later.
Manager Mr Bailey said the building is one of the oldest of its types in London.
He added: "You name it, we have it under the roof. We're only partially occupied. It's got a fabulous history, Charter 88 used to be based here and the Terrence Higgins Trust. Franny Armstrong, who directed The Age of Stupid, used to work from here. It's been a hub of artistic endeavour for the community for a long time and I would love it to remain so. That feeling is reflected in the people who remain there. It's a community and this is something that affects us all."