Community praised after fire in Moretonhampstead last night

By newtonnews | Wednesday, February 03, 2010, 12:30

Police have praised members of the Moretonhampstead community following a fire in the town last night (Tuesday, February 2).

Emergency services were called to the blaze in Pound Street at about 10.30pm on Tuesday, February 2.

The fire, which originated in the garage of a terraced house, was spotted by the occupants who alerted the fire service.

Police officers set up a 100m cordon due to a risk of a gas explosion and around 80 residents were evacuated from their homes – some to a nearby sports hall and others to the Bell Inn.

Fire crews from Moretonhampstead, Bovey Tracey and Chagford attended the scene.

They tackled the blaze using four breathing apparatus wearers with two hose reel jets and a further two breathing apparatus wearers were used to ventilate the next door property.

The fire was quickly extinguished an hour and a half later and, although Devon County Council had been placed on standby, they were not required to deploy their Crisis Support Team.

Commented Sgt Mark Ruston, the Police Incident Commander: "The fire was under control very quickly and I’d like to thank the residents who were displaced tonight for their co-operation during the incident.

"In particular, I would like to thank Ben Harding and Milly Gooding of the Bell Inn, together with Graham Austin and others at the Sports Hall who allowed their premises to be used and looked after those who were evacuated.

"It was very reassuring to see the community spirit in existence and I am grateful for the help and support from Moretonhampstead residents."

No-one was injured during the incident. The cause of the fire is not yet known but is not thought to be suspicious at this time.