Striking firefighters came off the picket line on Tuesday to help retained crews tackle a blaze at a charityÕs day centre in Petersfield.
Full-time firefighters from Southsea station broke the 48-hour strike to help fight the fire at the On Track centre, which provides support for adults with learning disabilities, in Station Road.
The Southsea crew, with an aerial platform, joined retained crews from Petersfield, Liphook, Horndean, Bordon and Alton to tackle the blaze at 4-32pm on Tuesday night.
Luckily staff and adults had left the centre, which closes at 4pm, before the fire broke out.
But a spokesperson for Hampshire Fire and Rescue said the crew had broken the strike to ensure no-one was hurt in the incident that could have been far more serious.
He said: ÒObviously we wanted to make sure no-one was involved.Ó
Crews arrived on the scene within minutes of the emergency calls.
Petersfield retained firefighter, Chris Jenner, said the fire was under control within 20 minutes but hot spots continued to flare up for sometime afterwards.
One room at the centre was completely destroyed in the blaze and the rest of the centre was smoke damaged.
A fire investigation team began searching for the cause of the fire on Wednesday morning but the spokesperson confirmed there was Ònothing suspicious at this stageÓ.
Police were forced to close Station Road from the Bell Hill roundabout to the level crossing as fire crews tackled the blaze, causing rush hour tailbacks in the town.
The level crossing gates remained closed until 7-30 pm but there was no disruption to train services.
Sylvia Parker, an area manager for Elizabeth Fitzroy Support which runs the centre, said she was numb as she arrived on the scene.
ÒThere is a great deal of damage. It will affect a lot of local people and the cost to the charity is going to be significant.Ó
Stephanie Little, a manager for the charity, added that they were all relieved that no-one was in the building at the time.
The charity, which provides day support for 80 adults and employs 20 full and part-time staff, is now counting the cost of the damage and is trying to put contingency plans in place to continue operating.
Centre manager, Keith Jackson, said: ÒIt is difficult to put into words. It is going to seriously disrupt the kind of work we do. The building itself will be out of action for a few weeks. We are putting an emergency plan together to continue the service, but we are not quite sure how we are going to do it.Ó
The fire comes in a devastating week for On Track
after vandals smashed windscreens on five minibuses at the centre on Thursday night last week.
The charity is now appealing for local support to help them with storage space or a premises to operate from in the short term.