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The Taplow Street property’s windows show damage caused by the fire |
Man returns to find wife killed by blaze
Neighbours’ safety fears as investigation goes on into fire tragedy that claimed life of woman
POLICE and fire chiefs are trying to discover the cause of a devastating fire that killed a woman in the Old Street area on Friday.
Barbara Grafe, 46, died when a blaze tore through the second-floor Taplow Street maisonette she shared with her husband shortly after 7am.
Helpless onlookers saw her screaming for help at the windows and heard banging on the walls before everything went quiet.
Her lifeless body was discovered moments later by firefighters.
Neighbours described her as a “softly spoken lady” who dearly loved her two pets – a small black and white collie, Foxy, and a cat, Princey.
And they raised concerns about how she came to die at the property, which is managed by housing corporation Circle 33.
Raghib Raghib, the flat’s previous tenant, said: “These flats don’t have a fire escape. The only exit in these maisonettes is through the front door. What way do they have of getting out if there is a fire?”
Mr Raghib, who lived in the one-bedroom flat with his family for 28 years until last year, said: “We just moved out, but that could have been me, my wife and my two daughters in there.”
It is believed the fire, which gutted the second floor of the Grade-II listed building, was sparked by an electrical fault in the living room.
A neighbour of the Grafes, “Ann”, said they were a “lovely couple” who had only moved in 11 months ago.
“It went up so quick,” she said.
“We want to know how it started because we’re all concerned. I’ve been frightened to go in my bedroom.
Mr Grafe, known to neighbours as “Neron”, left for work at 5.50am on the morning of the fire.
He returned to the scene in tears the following day, neighbours.
One said: “He was very distraught. He was asking if anybody had seen Barbara. He couldn’t believe it.”
Vince Magyar, watch manager at Islington Fire Station, said the fire was “fully developed” and the flat engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived.
“The fire had blown out the windows. Police couldn’t enter because of the heat. Four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus went in with hose reels and eventually found the woman on the top floor.”
A Circle 33 spokeswoman said: “We take our landlord responsibilities very seriously and abide by all safety regulations. We are awaiting the outcome of the police investigation.” |
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