Restaurant destroyed in Portswood High Street blaze

More than 75 firefighters from across Hampshire tackled a large fire in a restaurant on Portswood High Street in Southampton on Friday evening.

Staff working inside the restaurant did an excellent job in evacuating the 17 diners safely and ensuring the cooking appliances were isolated.

Crews were called shortly before 19:30 and used hoses and jets with aerial ladders in operation.

Fourteen fire engines and additional specialist vehicles were involved at the height of the incident.

Relief crews were organised to take over from those firefighters who were first on the scene.

The roof of the restaurant collapsed with five crews set to remain working at the incident throughout the night to prevent the fire from flaring up again.

Police closed off Portswood High Street which remained shut until the morning.

The stop message came in at 1:25am.

Incident Commander Rob Cole said:

“Our teams worked incredibly hard in hot conditions to aggressively fight the fire and prevent it from spreading to the adjoining premises.

“Throughout the incident we worked closely with our Hampshire Constabulary colleagues who closed off the surrounding roads.

“I’d like to thank the local businesses who provided our crews with refreshments throughout the incident on a humid evening.”

The cause of the fire is currently undetermined, but not thought to be suspicious. Due to the risk of further collapse Fire Investigation Officers haven’t been able to get inside to work out a definitive cause. They’re hoping to return to the scene to gather more evidence once the building has been made safe.

A Grade II listed adjoining building dating back to the 1700’s was saved in the fire. The blaze was confined to the roof space of the building of significant heritage value, with many important architectural features saved.