Two of them suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to Bedford Hospital South Wing, while the third suffered a leg injury and was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital. The blaze at Redwood Grove was so intense it caused the roof of the building to collapse. One person killed in fire – see story update The firefighter was one of those injured from smoke inhalation, East Anglia Ambulance Service said, as fire crews described the blaze as a “major incident”. A local resident said they saw a person jump from a second-floor window to escape the burning block. Images from the scene showed the three-story structure on fire and an adjacent building evacuated. Emergency services warned people to stay indoors and keep their windows and doors closed. A spokesman for Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We are currently attending a large gas explosion in Redwood Grove, Bedford. “There are currently six appliances, two water tankers, one incident command unit on scene. Avoid the area and keep windows and doors closed.” Read more from Sky News: Man seriously injured in Burnley house explosion Woman found dead after Birmingham house destroyed by gas explosion A statement from Bedfordshire Police earlier said: “Emergency services responded to an explosion in Redwood Grove, Bedford this morning. “This has resulted in a major fire in a three-storey block of 20 flats, which has engulfed the entire building and caused a large section of the roof to collapse.” “I saw someone jump from the second floor window” Adam Fisher, who works in a nearby building, said: “A massive explosion [was] heard – everyone went to our work parking lot to see what was going on. “Our building is next to the apartment complex – immediately (there was) an inferno visible, a huge cloud of smoke billowing, people screaming and people frantically calling for emergency services.” Another witness, who did not want to be named, said: “I walked through town and saw the flames and I also saw someone jump out of the second floor window while the flames were coming out.” Bali Mummon told Sky News: ‘You just felt helpless at the time, thinking the worst. “The hope is that people were not seriously injured – or even killed. “And I don’t know what happened, but I hope there was hardly anyone in there.” John O’Reilly, 76, was “hit [his] feet’ from the explosion. He added: “There were bricks in the road so it was obviously a very large explosion to cause this kind of damage.” The nearby John Bunyan Center was set up as an emergency aid centre, with members of the British Red Cross present to help. About 20 people were at the scene until 2 p.m. He said the “majority” of people “went to friends and family so they were safe and tidy”.
