On the evening of Sunday, August 31, 2025, a regular family gathering in the picturesque seaside town of St Ives, Cornwall, turned into a harrowing ordeal after an external staircase collapsed at a block of flats on Carthew Terrace. Four members of the same family were injured, with one woman suffering potentially life-changing injuries, according to multiple reports from BBC, CornwallLive, and the Daily Mail.
The incident unfolded just before 7pm, as Helen Randall, the property owner, recounted to BBC and CornwallLive. Her relatives were leaving after a visit when, without warning, the fire escape at the back of the ten-apartment block—leading to the roof terrace—gave way beneath them. "It was your worst nightmare," Randall described, the shock and distress still evident in her words. The sudden collapse sent her mother, brother, sister-in-law, and aunt crashing down, resulting in a cascade of injuries.
Emergency services responded with remarkable speed and scale. The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust told BBC that the 999 call came in at 18:41 BST. In a matter of minutes, four double-crewed land ambulances, two air ambulances, two first responders, and an operations officer converged on Carthew Terrace. The sight of flashing blue lights, the thrum of helicopter blades, and the presence of police and firefighters drew concerned neighbors out into the street. One local, speaking to CornwallLive, recalled, "I saw the fire engine so I went up to the end of my garden to be nosy. There were three road ambulances and at one point there were three more rapid response vehicles. I had heard the air ambulance land in the field nearby."
Of the four family members injured, one woman—identified by Randall as her aunt—was airlifted nearly 80 miles to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth with what police and ambulance officials described as "serious, potentially life-changing injuries." Her mother remained at Royal Cornwall Hospital, while her brother and his wife were treated for broken bones and subsequently discharged from Treliske Hospital, as reported by BBC and CornwallLive. In all, three patients were transported by land ambulances and one by air, highlighting the severity and urgency of the situation.
The block of flats, located near the center of St Ives and within sight of Porthmeor Beach, was cordoned off as a precaution. Devon and Cornwall Police maintained a scene guard throughout the night and into the following day. They assured the public that, while the incident was serious, "there is no wider risk to the public." Road closures were implemented in and around Carthew Terrace as investigators worked to determine the cause of the collapse.
Attention swiftly turned to the safety of the building and the structural integrity of the fire escape. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the national body responsible for workplace and public safety, was notified immediately and began making inquiries. A spokesperson for the HSE confirmed to CornwallLive, "We are aware of the incident and making enquiries." Devon and Cornwall Police echoed this, stating to the Daily Mail, "Police are attending to support the investigation on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive and there are scene closures in place at Carthew Terrace."
The incident has raised urgent questions about building safety, particularly in older residential blocks where external stairways—often serving as fire escapes—may not receive routine inspection or maintenance. Neighbors expressed a mix of shock and concern, with one telling CornwallLive, "It’s really sad and I hope they will be ok." The collapse of a critical safety feature like a fire escape is, as Helen Randall put it, a nightmare scenario for any property owner or resident.
While the investigation into the precise cause of the collapse is ongoing, the event has inevitably drawn comparisons to past incidents. As reported by ITV, a similar tragedy occurred in 2021 at a Holiday Inn hotel in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, when a wooden staircase collapsed during a wedding party photo, sending ten guests tumbling and hospitalizing seven. The subsequent court case revealed the stairway had been built from the wrong type of wood and poorly maintained, leading to long-term injuries for two victims. Such cases underscore the necessity for rigorous safety standards and regular inspections, especially for communal and escape routes in residential buildings.
The response from local authorities and emergency services in St Ives has been widely praised. The scale of the rescue operation, which included both of Cornwall’s air ambulances being dispatched (though only one was needed for transport), demonstrated the readiness and professionalism of first responders. A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service summarized the effort: "We sent four double-crewed land ambulances, two air ambulances, two first responders and an operations officer to the scene. We conveyed one patient by air ambulance to Derriford Hospital and three other patients via land ambulances to Treliske Hospital."
As the family recovers, with two members already discharged and two still in hospital, the wider community of St Ives is left grappling with the aftermath. The incident has prompted calls for greater vigilance regarding the upkeep of external staircases and fire escapes, especially in older or converted properties that may not have been subject to modern building codes. The Health and Safety Executive’s investigation will be crucial in determining not only the cause of the collapse but also whether broader action is needed to prevent similar accidents elsewhere.
For now, Carthew Terrace remains under police guard, a stark reminder of how quickly disaster can strike in the most familiar of settings. The hope, echoed by neighbors and officials alike, is that the injured will recover and that lessons will be learned to ensure such a tragedy does not happen again.
With the investigation ongoing and the community still reeling, the collapse on Carthew Terrace stands as a sobering wake-up call about the hidden dangers in everyday structures—and the importance of never taking safety for granted.
