EIGHTY firefighters tackling a blaze that swept through 50 flats in York were not hampered by a lack of water and the hydrants were working well, an initial investigation has revealed.

Fire chiefs are expected to spend the next few days talking to residents and City of York Council building officials to try to establish how the fire started at Fulford Place at about 5.15pm on Friday.

The design of the roof will be scrutinised to see why the fire spread so rapidly and took firefighters nearly nine hours to bring under control.

Initial investigations revealed the fire started in the roof - probably caused by a cigarette thrown on to the roof.

They have ruled out any kind electrical fault or that the fire was started maliciously.

On Friday night, dozens of flats were affected, leaving their horrified owners homeless after flames swept through the top floor of the building.

Emergency services believed between 50 and 60 flats had been affected.

The council found temporary accommodation for 17 residents, but most have spent the weekend staying with friends and family.

In last night's Evening Press, Owen Hayward, operations support manager for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, said the service would also be looking into claims that firefighters were left without water for about 30 minutes and were let down by the water pressure in the fire hydrants.

But initial checks carried out on the hydrants showed they were working well and there was enough water to fight the blaze.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: "We are quite happy there was enough water to fight the blaze and that the hydrants used were in good working order.

"There might have been some difficulties in finding the best hydrant at the time because some are on a smaller main, but that is not unusual.

"The water supplies were not a factor in how well we were able to fight the fire."

Resident Scott Randles, 24, a self-employed project management consultant, is organising a residents' meeting on Thursday night.

Updated: 10:35 Tuesday, May 17, 2005