11 August 2009

Three people were able to escape to safety this morning after a fire broke out in a house in High Wycombe, bringing down part of the roof while they were sleeping.

Crews from High Wycombe and Beaconsfield were called to the two-storey detached house in West Wycombe Road at 1am, along with Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service's Command and Control Unit. At its peak, there were around 30 firefighters and officers at the incident.

Watch Manager Andy Jones from High Wycombe Fire Station said: "We arrived to find a well-developed fire in the roof of the house.

"The occupants were alerted when part of the roof collapsed into one of the bedrooms, which fortunately was empty at the time. This caused the fire to start spreading along the hallway to the rest of the first floor."

Crews brought the fire under control within an hour, using a hose reel from a turntable ladder and jets from the front and back of the house. They remained at the scene for several hours to search for hot-spots and continue to cool it down.

Andy added: "The fire caused severe damage to the roof and first floor, but we worked very hard to prevent it from taking hold of the whole house."

A smoke alarm on the ground floor was not working as it did not have a battery fitted. Firefighters are reminding people to check their smoke alarms once a week by pushing the "test" button.

Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service will carry out a free safety check of your home and fit free smoke detectors where necessary.

Ring 01296 744477, send an email to cs@bucksfire.gov.uk or use the online form to book an appointment.