Children flee Gosport house fire
Four children and their mother dramatically escaped a fire in their home today.
Some had to jump from windows and others were rescued by firefighters .
Police and fire teams have launched an investigation to establish exactly how the blaze started in the terraced house in Bramber Road, Gosport at 5am.
The road was cordoned off by police officers as crews from Fareham and Gosport fire stations attended to the blaze.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said four of the people living in the house had been rescued and were outside by the time two crews from Gosport fire station and two from Fareham arrived on the scene at 5am.
The three remaining people at the house were then helped to escape through the windows. Fire crews used two hose reels, one high-powered jet pump and six breathing apparatus to get the fire under control and it was out by 6.45am.
Station Manager Al Heinrich said: 'Crews arrived to find a severe fire in a triple storey, end of terrace property with all the occupants accounted for. It appears that the family was awoken to the sound of their smoke alarm sounding and managed to evacuate the property rapidly.
'This was a severe fire which spread quickly through the property and without the operating smoke alarm this fire could have had devastating consequences.'
Hampshire Constabulary is treating this fire as suspicious and a fire investigation will be carried out by the Hampshire Arson Task Force.
Police officers continued to man a cordon at the road this morning.
A by-stander said: 'There's quite a lot of activity and you can smell smoke quite strongly in the air.'
Meanwhile, firefighters were called to a house in Gosport yesterday after the owner smelled burning – only to discover there had been a chip pan fire at the house next door.
Fire crews from Gosport were puzzled as they searched the house in Park Road, Gosport, at about 5pm as they could find no sign of any fire.
They searched the property using thermal imaging cameras but could find nothing.
But their noses then led them to the house next door where an 88-year-old man told them he had put out the fire himself about an hour and a half before. Firefighters put up a couple of smoke detectors and reminded people they should call the fire service at the first sign of a fire.
Crew manager Jim Buck said: 'He has done a great job but as soon as anybody has a fire we would like to tell them to get out and call the fire brigade.
'This man could have been overcome by fumes and if that had happened this would have been a lot more serious.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
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