21 October 2009

More than 40 firefighters and officers were at the scene of a fire last night in which a residential building under construction in High Wycombe was destroyed.

Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service was called to the 20 metre by 20 metre building on West Wycombe Road at 7.17pm.

Crews from High Wycombe, Beaconsfield, Marlow, Stokenchurch and Princes Risborough attended along with the Incident Command Unit based at Aylesbury.

Station Manager Jeremy Williams said: “On arrival, firefighters were faced with a well-developed fire in a semi-detached building under construction.

“Crews worked extremely hard to contain the fire and limit the damage beyond the site.”

Due to the intensity of the fire and radiated heat a neighbouring semi-detached house was affected resulting in firefighters entering the property and assisting three men and two women to safety.

All five suffered from the effects of breathing in smoke with one man and one woman taken to hospital by South Central Ambulance Service as a precaution.

Firefighters used four main jets, one hose reel and two sets of breathing apparatus to put out the fire.

Jeremy added: “The crews worked well under intense heat, and were supported by colleagues from partner agencies including Thames Valley Police, South Central Ambulance Service, Wycombe District Council Building Control and British Telecom.

“Our thanks also go to local residents for maintaining a clear area around the fire for all emergency services”.  

Relief crews were brought in shortly after 11pm, and an investigation into the cause of the fire is being carried out today.

Anyone with information relating to this incident can call the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.