The police cordon in Gayton Crescent

SHOCK and sadness has followed the death of an elderly man in a Hampstead flat fire.

John Feather, 84, was pronounced dead at his home in Gayton Crescent after firefighters arrived at the blaze on Thursday morning. A police cordon was established and fire investigators were on the scene with specially trained dogs in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

The cause of the blaze was still under investigation yesterday (Wednesday).

Neighbours said they had been alerted to the fire by the smell and sound of burning.

Ruggero Bozotti said: “My partner was hanging laundry in the garden and she heard the window crash, explode, then she saw smoke. Then she started yelling: ‘Fire!’, so I called 999.” We could see from the garden. I think it was in the bathroom.”

Mr Bozotti added. “At the time it was a lot adrenaline pumping… I rushed out and I started ringing the bells. I think people had already been alerted by the yelling. “I went upstairs and knocked on John’s door. I could hear the fire inside, but I couldn’t hear any response… When I was banging on the door, I couldn’t imagine him being in there.”

Mr Feather had been highly educated and would read books in ancient Greek, said Mr Bozotti, adding: “I had talked to him as neighbours do. He didn’t go out much, but he was very kind, a very lovely man. He lived alone, and he was a chemist by trade.”

The burned out window at the property in Gayton Crescent

Drusilla Heywood, who lives in the basement flat of the building, said: “I heard a loud bang, and wondered what on earth that was. A minute or so later I could smell woodsmoke, a burning smell.

“So I went to my door into the garden to find out, because it was a noise from the back of the house. But before I could open it, my doorbell went. It was my neighbour saying: ‘There’s a fire, get out’.”

Ms Heywood said the building, which comprises four flats, is not owned by the council or run by a housing association.

Every household has a share of the freehold. Companies House lists Mr Feather as the director of the management company responsible for overseeing the building.

Ms Heywood said of her neighbour: “Since I’ve known him, he was a translator translating technical scientific stuff from Germanic languages into English. I think he had a doctorate in chemistry… he had a scientific, technical mind.” She remembered him as someone who “used to go out to an amateur dramatic society and help them out with carpentry and lighting. He was quite practical – he used to do repairs around the house.”

Another neighbour said the fire had been so ferocious he had been able to hear it burning from the next-door property. The other residents of the building have been moved into temporary accommodation until further notice.

Speaking to the New Journal, Mr Feather’s sister Valerie Emblen said: “It is very early days yet, and the family is feeling the shock and sadness of the whole business.”

In a statement, the London Fire Brigade said they had “rescued a man from the second floor via an internal staircase. He was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. The fire was under control by 12.49. Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters from West Hampstead, Euston, Hendon and surrounding fire stations attended the scene.”