A DERELICT house in Liss was severely damaged when fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday. Adjacent buildings were in serious danger.
Syke House, a two-storey empty house in Station Road next door to St Mary's Church Hall, was said by police to be well alight when they called the brigade at 2-20 am.
Four appliances were sent to Liss, two from Petersfield and one each from Liphook and Bordon. The Copnor special equipment unit and the aerial ladder platform from Basingstoke were also called. In all there were 27 firefighters and two senior officers on site.
Two firefighters in breathing apparatus searched the building to make sure no one was trapped inside. Once this was established the firefighters concentrated on tackling the blaze from the outside.
A spokesman for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said that a fire of this intensity could quickly spread to adjacent buildings.
The aerial ladder platform was used to direct water into the blaze from above but it was not until 5 am that the firefighters were able to leave the site.
This is not the first time Syke House has caught fire. Appliances were called to the house a few weeks ago and after the fire was put out the house was boarded up.
The empty building has deteriorated and had already become an eyesore before it was severely damaged by the fire.
Last year St Mary's parochial church council entered into a conditional contract with Hallsdown Investments, the owners of Syke House, for a partnership development of the two sites.
The project has received planning permission and the building is due to be demolished, as is St Mary's Church Hall, and the two sites will be redeveloped to provide 13 self-contained flats and a new church hall on the combined site.