Crews Tackle Big Thatch Fire In Hampshire

13 February 2015, 06:09 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

About 40 firefighters have battled a thatched roof fire on the edge of the New Forest.

Fire crews from Hampshire and Dorset were sent to Sopley near Bransgore yesterday evening (Thursday 12 February) at 17:41 after reports of a fire.

On arrival crews were faced with a large incident where a thatch roof was well alight. The firefighters quickly set to work tackling the intense fire. 

Officer in charge Station Manager Thompson said:

"The firefighters did a fantastic job in salvaging most of the contents of the house whilst fighting the fire from outside. During the fire the chimney stack had become unstable so it wasn't safe for our crews to fight the fire from inside. They tackled the fire from outside in a controlled manner."

Four Hampshire crews from the New Forest area were in attendance along with three crews from Dorset. Our aerial ladder platform was also sent to the scene.

Crew remained on scene throughout the night.

The cause of the fire is not yet known and an investigation will start this morning to establish what happened.