TWO Alton families were left homeless on Sunday night after fire tore through a pair of semi-detached houses in Lipscombe Rise, destroying one and badly damaging the other. The incident has had a devastating impact on the families who have been left with nothing but the clothes they were standing in. Thought to have resulted from an electrical fault, possibly in a computer located in a back bedroom, the chilling fact is that the fire could have been brought under control much sooner had the source property's hardwire smoke detector raised the alarm. But it appears to have failed. According to Alton station officer Steve May, it was his understanding that the householders were downstairs at the time, completely unaware that a fire was raging in the rooms above. It was not until their children returned home and saw smoke billowing out of an upstairs window that the alarm was raised. Firefighter May and his crew arrived at the scene minutes after the 5-20 pm callout to find the first floor of one of the houses completely engulfed in flames and the other in imminent danger of going the same way. Having ascertained that there was now nobody in the burning building, they evacuated the immediate neighbours and set about tackling the blaze. One of the aims was to stop the fire spreading across to the adjoining property's roof. Their progress was hampered when they discovered gas cylinders stored in the loft of the blazing house. Assisted by the police, health and safety procedures led to an evacuation of surrounding households within a 100-metre radius of the incident and the setting up of an inner cordon to keep back the gathering crowds. At the height of the fire there were crews in attendance from Alton, Bordon, Alresford and Odiham, assisted by a special equipment unit and aerial ladder and platform from Basingstoke. The firefighters were relieved at around 10-30 pm by crews from Liphook and Rushmoor, who stayed overnight to make sure the roof was safe and to perform a damping down exercise to prevent re-ignition. While the attached property suffered severe water and smoke damage, the source property was gutted. Initial investigations show that the fire could have been caused by an electrical fault. Furthermore, that the alarm could have been raised earlier had the smoke detector in the burnt-down house been working. As owners of the properties, Drum Housing Association has been pulling out all the stops to try and help the families. One family, a mum and three children, have been found alternative accommodation from today (Friday) and Drum is working hard to find temporary accommodation for the other family who have been taken in by family and friends. Speaking about the state of the properties, Drum Housing public relations manager Maria Garside said that all the prefabricated "Waites' houses in the Lipscombe Rise area of Alton had been subjected to full licensed repairs approximately 15 years ago when they had been brought up to an improved, mortgageable standard. "We are completely satisfied that the standard of these and the other Waites houses in the area are sound," said Mrs Garside, who also confirmed that Drum had "gifted" all its residents free battery-powered smoke detectors around eight years ago. "All residents agreed to accept responsibility for checking and changing the batteries," she said. According to Mrs Garside, in 1999 an ongoing and annual programme of rewiring and upgrades began and the battery-powered smoke detectors were replaced by hard-wired models. "Each of these hard wired smoke detectors has a life expectancy of around 10 years," said Mrs Garside, who also confirmed that Drum Housing operates a gas servicing cycle, on an annual basis, and that this includes the testing and overhaul of all smoke detectors. "The smoke detector in question was hard- wired and installed in April 2003. It was last tested on April 7 this year, and it was in situ, and in full working order at that time. Since then, Drum has received no reports that the smoke detector was in any way faulty or in need of repair," said Mrs Garside. "Everyone at Drum Housing Association feels great sympathy for the families involved, and all those affected by the fire. We are determined to assist them as much as possible in the meantime, to try and alleviate some of the distress caused to them." Speaking on behalf of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, spokesman Dave Molyneaux confirmed that a smoke alarm had been fitted in the property but that early investigations had suggested that it had failed to operate. "It is a reminder to everyone that only working fire alarms can save lives and properties," said Mr Molyneaux. "Hampshire firefighters would urge everyone to make sure they maintain their smoke alarms on a regular basis." l Hampshire's Community Fire Safety department is there to give advice, will install free smoke detectors and provide home fire safety checks at absolutely no charge, just call 02380 626809
