Southsea fire crews scrambled as fire badly damages property in Telephone Road

Both fire engines from Southsea fire station and an engine from Cosham were called at 2.30pm yesterday, scrambling to a property in Telephone Road, off Lawrence Road, in Southsea

The occupants – a woman and her adult son – were able to escape the terraced house as the fire spread, according nearby residents.

The owner of a property next door said: ‘We saw lots of smoke and we could see flames coming out the windows at the front and back.

‘We were really worried about the fire spreading.

‘It was pretty scary.’

Firefighters spent more than two hours using breathing apparatus and a hose reel to bring the blaze under control, according to Southsea crew manager Stephen Alchin.

He said: ‘It was a two-storey house with a fire in the back bedroom – the whole first floor was affected by fire.

‘It was quite a bad fire.

‘We believe it was caused by discarded ash from a cigarette.

‘Our safety message to the public is make sure cigarettes are stubbed out in proper ash trays, and don’t smoke in bed.’

No one was injured in the incident and an ambulance did not attend, according to the crew manager.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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