Crews from across Hampshire tackle Clanfield thatch blaze

More than 70 firefighters were called to a thatched roof blaze in Clanfield near Waterlooville in the early hours of this morning (8 Dec).

The roof of the detached property was well alight when the first firefighters arrived on scene shortly before 1am.

Fortunately, there are no reports of any injuries but nearby residents were asked to keep windows and doors closed because of the smoke, and to avoid the area due to the large number of emergency vehicles in attendance.

More than 12 fire engines were called to the scene, coming from Horndean, Havant, Waterlooville, Cosham, Fareham, Hayling Island, Wickham, Southsea and Droxford fire stations.

Specialist resources from Eastleigh, Portchester and Alton were also required, as well as an aerial ladder.

Crews tackled the fire using hose reels and jets, allowing firefighters wearing breathing apparatus sets to conduct a salvage operation within the two-storey property on North Lane.

Both the roof and first-floor were destroyed in the fire with the ground-floor suffering smoke and water damage.

Crews from Hamble, Hightown, Bishop’s Waltham, Liphook, Botley, St Mary’s, Gosport, Odiham, Basingstoke, Sutton Scotney and Alresford were alerted to take over from those firefighters who were first on the scene and had been working for a number of hours.

The incident was scaled down to two fire engines prior to the stop message at 12:15.

Firefighters will return throughout the day to conduct a reinspection checking for remaining hotspots.

Incident Commander Jason Avery said:

“Thatch roof fires spread rapidly and are usually very difficult to extinguish, so I cannot praise our crews enough for all their hard work throughout the night to stop the fire in very cold and challenging conditions.

“Sadly a family has lost their home but fortunately no one was hurt and we were able to retrieve personal belongings from the property to prevent them from being destroyed.

“Working closely with our partners we will continue to have a presence here throughout the day to ensure the fire is fully out and establish the cause.”

If you live in a thatched property complete the home safety check on our website for tailored guidance. For more advice go to: Thatched living tips.