A DARWEN fire chief has urged people to report all incidents following a spate of arson attacks at the Police Street hostel in the town.

In the latest blaze, two people had to be rescued.

Fire crews were called to the hostel, run by Twin Valley Homes, just before 11pm on Saturday to find residents evacuating the building after a fire was deliberately started in a second-floor toilet.

After a search, checks revealed two people were unaccounted for and firefighters re-entered the building and found two men, one of whom was deaf and had difficulty walking.

Both were suffering from smoke inhalation and were taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary.

Police are investigating the incident and have appealed for witnesses.

But station commander Steve Cope said four other incidents at the hostel in the previous two days had gone unreported to the fire service, with staff putting out the fires themselves.

He said: "Any incident of fire should always be reported, whatever the size, especially where there is a risk to residents.

"In this case, around 60 people had to be evacuated from the building, many of whom would have been in bed, and we would urge people to always ring us when there is a fire."

He added: "The two people rescued were very fortunate not to have suffered serious injury."

Investigations into the fire on Saturday revealed a floor tile made of hessian and rubber had been placed on a toilet and lit using toilet paper.

Steve Cope said: "The floor tile had been taken from the corridor and, as it was made of rubber, produced a very thick black smoke."

The toilet block was severely damaged by the fire, with the whole of the second floor suffering smoke damage.

Det Sgt Graeme Simpson, of Darwen CID, said: "There were one or two small fires at the premises previous to the incident, which neither the police nor fire service was called to.

"Our investigations are continuing and we are following a few lines of inquiry."

The Police Street hostel was built as the Model Lodging House for men working in the mills more than 100 years ago and has a long history of caring for people in Darwen.