A FIRE that ravaged a block of flats in Cam is under investigation by Gloucestershire Police amid suspicions it may have been started deliberately.

The blaze began right outside Ryan Purland’s front door on Friday, April 17, on an evening he was looking after his two-year-old daughter – but fortunately they were out visiting family at the time.

During their investigation the police chanced upon some equipment that could be used in the cultivation of cannabis and arrested a 32-year-old man.

Police and fire crews were called to the inferno at the block of flats, in Leaside Close, Cam, at around 9pm.

Residents, many of whom were in at the time, managed to escape the blaze unscathed. One woman who didn’t wish to be named described her ordeal.

She said: “I don’t even know when it started. I heard a banging on my door from one of the neighbours but I was on my own and didn’t recognise the knock so I left it. Then they started ringing me on the phone and shouting for me through the window.

“When I opened my front door all I could see was black smoke – it was really frightening. I went back in to get a flannel to hold over my face as I left because the smoke was so thick.”

Four fire engines attended the scene and it took around three hours for crews to tackle the blaze, with residents standing outside in the cold until about 1am. The police tried to help as much as possible, providing coats, mobile phones and medication for the residents when they were allowed to enter the building.

Many of the flat interiors came out of the incident with little damage, with most of the impact of the smoke limited to the hallways.

Mr Purland, 32, who lives at the flat outside of which the fire began is scared by the prospect of arson but says things could have been much worse.

“I had my daughter with me this weekend so we would have been in the flat," he said.

"We’re really lucky that we happened to be visiting family in Eastbourne because we would have probably been sleeping at that time.

“It could have been a lot worse but what happened still scares me – I’m definitely going to be moving out of this place.

“I had just started having some good luck. Things were going well for me, and then this happens.”

In a separate matter, during the evacuation the police came across equipment that could be used for small-scale cannabis cultivation.

A 32-year-old male from Leaside Close was arrested on suspicion of permitting the use of premises for supply of cannabis and possession of cannabis or cannabis resin and has been bailed pending further inquiries until June 17.

Police have asked anybody with information on the arson to call police on 101 quoting incident number 486 of April 17.