Sprinkler system helps control fire at Portsmouth residential high-rise

A sprinkler system installed at a high-rise in Portsmouth helped control a fire whilst crews extinguished the blaze.

At 16:32 on Tuesday 10 May, crews from Southsea, Havant, Fareham, Waterlooville, Eastleigh and Cosham were called to a fire in a student accommodation block in Commercial Road in Portsmouth.

On arrival, crews discovered the fire involved an oven inside a flat on the eighth floor and wore breathing apparatus to extinguish it, using one hose reel.

The sprinkler system in the building had activated and kept the fire from spreading, allowing crews to extinguish the blaze safely.

Rob Cole, Assistant Director of Operations, said: “The sprinklers activated in this building and kept the fire in check. This meant we could deploy resources and send our crews into the building to keep the fire in the room of origin, without spreading elsewhere.

“Sprinklers really do make a big difference in keeping communities safe and preventing fires from spreading.”

The stop message was received at 17:28