Fire at 298 Old Brompton Road, London SW5, 25 February 1956. An escape ladder is extended to the second floor, with Sub Officer Kirby of A9 Fulham carrying a 19-month-old child, Dennis Norman McGowan, down in his arms. He had been left in his cot in the front room before the fire started. At this stage the strings of the ladder were smouldering which, together with the heat and smoke from the shop, made the situation extremely dangerous. A firefighter (left) is directing a water jet towards the top of the ladder, and a group of firefighters (right) are directing their hose into the ground floor of the building.