A BLAZE which ripped through a Highgate flat was not linked to an earlier incident in the same apartment, the fire brigade has confirmed. Residents were evacuated in their pyjamas when a fire spread through a flat on the Holly Lodge Estate at 2am on Monda

A BLAZE which ripped through a Highgate flat was not linked to an earlier incident in the same apartment, the fire brigade has confirmed.

Residents were evacuated in their pyjamas when a fire spread through a flat on the Holly Lodge Estate at 2am on Monday April 21.

It later emerged fire fighters had been called to the same flat on Langbourne Avenue just a few hours earlier, when smoke from burnt food filled the corridors.

But claims firefighters had not dealt adequately with the first incident were dismissed after an investigation confirmed the two fires were not linked. A spokesman for the fire brigade said: "The brigade's Fire Investigation Group, with independent verification, found there was no link between the smouldering of burnt food in the first incident, which was effectively contained within the grill enclosure, and the cause of the second incident.

"The cause of the second fire was either long-term heating of the wall timbers by the cooker or resistance heating of the electrical switch due to higher than usual usage of the cooker that night.