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Thatch Blaze

Firefighters tackle a thatch blaze in Rockford, nr Ringwood

28 Jan 2010

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Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service was alerted to a fire at a thatched property in Rockford near Ringwood at 3:42 pm today (27 January 2010).

The occupier was alerted to a fire (which is believed to have started in the chimney) by a smoke detector.

Fire crews from Ringwood, Fordingbridge, Burley and St Mary’s fire stations were immediately mobilised to the scene. Due to the location of the property firefighters from Wiltshire and Dorset fire and rescue services were also in attendance. Working with our fire and rescue service partners was a great support in dealing with this incident.

Firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control using fifty breathing apparatus, three jet and three hose reels.

The thatch cottage (measuring 15 metres by 9 metres) received fifty percent damage to the roof, thirty percent damage to the first floor and the ground floor was fifty percent damaged by smoke and water.

An informative was received at 19:21 confirming that the crews were damping down and turning over.

Area manager, Andy Bowers today praised the firefighters that handled this difficult incident. He said:

“Without the rapid actions of the fire crews in attendance at the scene, there is no doubt that the cottage would have been completely destroyed.”

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Andy Bowers also said,

“The occupier of this thatched property did the right thing by evacuating the cottage and calling the fire service immediately which helped to prevent escalation of this unfortunate incident.

I recommend that all owners of thatched properties take this as an important reminder to have their chimneys regularly swept and inspected by qualified tradespersons. With the cold weather we are experiencing at the moment this is time where more solid fuel is burned and can easily lead to fires if simple preventative measures are not taken by house holders."

There are approximately 3000 thatched properties within the county of Hampshire. Between 2008-2009 Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has attended nine thatched fires. Such fires have a significant impact on the householder, the wider community and fire service resources.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service recognised that many of these incidents could have easily been prevented if simple precautionary measures were taken. A project board was therefore set up and was co-ordinated by Group Manager Jason Avery to provide a product which could educate and inform thatch owners as to the precautions that could be taken.  

As part of an ongoing thatched property initiative Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service launched a new thatch information pack to raise awareness of the issues specifically relating to thatch properties. This pack outlines the precautions householders can take to prevent a fire and gives instructions on actions to be taken in the unlikely event that a fire does occur.

This type of incident highlights the importance of raising fire safety awareness for thatch property owners across Hampshire.

Thatch property householders are advised to contact their local fire station or Community Safety at Service Headquarters on 023 8064 4000 for further information or to request a copy of the Thatch Information Pack. The Thatch Information Pack can be viewed at www.hantsfire.gov.uk/thatchinformation.

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