A man rescued from Monday’s Stevenage tower-block fire remains in “a critical condition” in hospital today, police have said.

The man was taken to hospital after firefighters rescued him from the blaze on the fifth floor of The Towers in Southgate.

The rescue operation caused flooding in the building, which saw neighbours moved to the nearby library for a period.

The fire was reported at 10.08am and was out by 11.30am. Eight fire engines were on the scene alongside Stevenage’s aerial platform, police and medical vehicles including two air ambulances.

Though the fire was contained within a single flat and the number of people injured was mercifully low, for many the incident evoked painful memories of last year’s Grenfell Tower disaster in London and, closer to home, the 2005 Harrow Court tragedy in which three people – including two Stevenage firefighters – lost their lives.

The ambulance service said one patient was taken by road to Albany Lodge, in St Albans, while two other people were assessed and discharged at the scene.

The building is run by Stevenage Borough Council, whose housing portfolio holder Councillor Jeannette Thomas saluted the fire and rescue service for keeping the blaze contained in a single flat.

She said flooding in the stairwell and lobby area had been cleared up by the borough council’s service teams.