Family escapes '˜raging' fire at Portsmouth home

A mother and her three children managed to get out of their terraced home in Adair Road, Eastney, after being alerted by a neighbour whose smoke alarm had gone off.

Firefighters were called to the blaze at about 10pm.

Just under 30 firefighters were involved in tackling the fire, which engulfed an upstairs bedroom at the back of the house.

They fought to stop it spreading to neighbouring homes.

Crew manager Scott Yule, from Southsea fire station, said: ‘Smoke was issuing from the front of the property and the fire was raging out of the back window.

‘It was a well-vented fire.’

Fourteen kits of breathing apparatus were need to tackle the blaze.

Firefighters went through the front entrance to fight the fire and hoses also tackled it from outside at the back of the property.

Mr Yule said: ‘The whole bedroom was on fire when we arrived.’

Five appliances, including from Cosham and Eastleigh, went to tackle the blaze and were on scene for two and a half hours.

Mr Yule said the property had been left ‘uninhabitable’ after being severely fire and smoke damaged.

The family have been provided accommodation by the Red Cross, whose staff were at the scene last night to support them.

Mr Yule added: ‘It highlights the importance of having working smoke alarms in a property.

‘This property did not have any working smoke alarms.

‘They were alerted to the problem by the next door neighbour who had smoke coming through their property.’

The cause of the fire is under investigation.