Clyde Grange Leeds: Neighbour's tribute to 'really nice guy' who died in tower block fire tragedy

A man died following the fire within Clyde Grange tower block in Wortley yesterday (Saturday) morning. Aušra Videikė said the fire happened on the 11th floor and that the victim lived on his own and was a friendly and familiar face to those within the complex.

Mrs Videikė, who lives in a flat with her husband and two children on the floor above, said that her kids alerted her to smoke outside their window at around 9am. She said: “My husband was still sleeping so I woke him up. I grabbed my kids and told them to pack quickly. I grabbed our passports and laptop, closed the windows and switched off the electricity. We didn’t know if we would be coming back.

"We rushed outside and called the fire brigade. They came really, really quickly. It only took two or three minutes. Ambulances and a helicopter also came and the police.”

She said that there was five fire engines in total and that residents of the tower block were evacuated as sprinklers were activated in the building. She said that from the outside she could see smoke but no flames coming from the flat.

She said she was assured by another resident that the fire would not spread to other flats due to the brickwork separating the flats. She added that she and her family had to wait for between three and four hours outside before being allowed back in.

Mrs Videikė added that through discussions between the residents and the emergency services it became apparent that a man had died in the fire. She said: “I was speaking to his neighbour. He was a really nice guy. He would always be chatting in the lift. It’s really sad.

Mrs Videikė said that despite the tragedy, she was “really proud” of her children and how they dealt with the situation, adding: “It was scary but I’m really happy for the kids’ reaction. There was no questions asked and they were so brave.”

West Yorkshire Police have been contacted for a statement.