‘Apocalyptic’ scenes after fire tears through five homes with ‘ash raining from sky’

Milo Pope | Live News reporter Published August 13, 2026 6:35pm Updated August 14, 2026 10:26am To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A child and three firefighters have been taken to hospital following a grass wildfire which set several houses alight in an ‘apocalyptic scene’. West Midlands Fire Service has said it is facing ‘extreme levels of demand’ as crews battled a large fire in the Stourbridge area that forced residents to flee their homes. The service has dealt with ‘thousands of 999 calls’ so far as more than 100 firefighters battled blazes across the region, chief fire officer Simon Tuhill has said. It is being described as ‘one of the most significant’ incidents the region’s fire service has ever dealt with