Firefighters called to serious incident in Portsmouth

More than 30 firefighters were called to the scene of a serious incident in Nelson Avenue, Portsmouth this afternoon (22 October).

Crews from Cosham, Portchester, Southsea, Havant, Emsworth and HIWFRS’ Urban Search and Rescue Team were called at 13:56 following an explosion and fire in the ground floor, first floor and roof space of a terraced property.

Two people were treated by South Central Ambulance Service at the scene and taken to hospital.

Firefighters worked hard to prevent the fire from spreading to neighbouring properties. The fire is now out but crews remain on scene damping down.

Incident commander Paul Reddish said: “We know that there has been an explosion of some sort but are not able to say what the cause of that was at this time.

“At the moment, the property is not safe to enter. Fire investigators will be here tonight and tomorrow to try and establish the cause but that may take some time.

“I’d like to thank the public for their patience and our emergency service and local authority partners for their help and co-operation.”

Properties either side of the fire have been evacuated and Nelson Avenue remains closed.

UPDATE: The stop message was received at 21:07 and our crews have now left Nelson Avenue.
Firefighters wore breathing apparatus and used two jets, two hose reel jets and the aerial ladder platform to put the fire out.
Community fire safety advice was carried out at surrounding properties.
Police will remain on scene overnight and fire investigators will return tomorrow.

UPDATE 23/10/21: Police and fire service investigators visited the house in Nelson Avenue, Portsmouth, this morning and believe that the most likely cause was a natural gas leak from within the property. The exact location of the leak is unknown but the resulting gas explosion and fire started in the kitchen.