Quick action from crews limits Southsea fire spread

Portsmouth firefighters tackled a blaze that spread across three back gardens on Grayshott Road.

Crews from Southsea, Cosham and Havant were called to the scene at 15:26 on Wednesday (22 June).

The fire started in a decked area in the rear garden of one house, before quickly spreading to the gardens on either side.

The neighbouring properties suffered some heat damage and two garden sheds were destroyed.

The ground floor of the house where the fire started was also damaged, but the actions of crews prevented the incident from spreading further.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus fought the blaze using hose reels and jets.

Jim Couch, the incident commander, said: “The swift actions of the first crews on scene limited the amount of damage. The fire had already spread to the neighbouring gardens but we were able to prevent it from causing any damage to the upstairs of the property.”

Although the exact cause of the fire has not been pinpointed, there were no suspicious circumstances.

After the fire had been extinguished, crews conducted Safe and Well visits at properties on the road before leaving the scene at 17:26.