AN Alton firefighter was on the receiving end of his colleague's help when flames tore through the roof of his thatched cottage in Holybourne last Wednesday. It was a "surreal experience" according to Barry Alderslade who believes a stray firework may have been responsible for the fire. Mr Alderslade was at home on standby when a passing motorist banged on the door to tell him that there were flames leaping from the roof of his 16th century listed building. In her bedroom, teenage stepdaughter, Leah, had been startled by the whizz and bang of a firework, but was unaware of the damage being wreaked above her. A neighbour had also seen the flash of something flying towards the ridge line and joined the motorist on the doorstep as Mr Alderslade sought to evacuate people and pets and dialled his own emergency callout line to alert colleagues to the fire. "They did a brilliant job. If they hadn't been so quick the house would have burnt down. They saved my home and I owe them big time," said Mr Alderslade who was able to use his own skills to ensure the fire fighters had easy access to the roof. The alarm was raised shortly after 8pm and the first to join him on the scene were two crews from Alton who arrived to find the roof of the Tudor cottage well alight. They were joined by pumps from Odiham and Farnham, a multi-role vehicle from Rushmoor, a water carrier from Farnham and an Incident Command Unit from Eastleigh. It required 30 firefighters to bring the blaze under control. The story was on regional TV and radio. A full-time officer at Gatwick and a retained officer at Alton, Garry Alderslade knows how vulnerable thatched properties can be, especially around Bonfire night. Mr Alderslade said there have been a record number of thatch fires in Hampshire this year and, having tackled blazes on other properties he had taken precautions to protect his own, which had last been rethatched in 2000. A lot of thatch fires start inside the roof but in this incident, because the fire was started by an external force, the loft fire detector did not activate and would not have worked until the thatch had burnt through. In paying tribute to his team, HFRS group manager, Jerry Leonard, confirmed that their "valiant attempts to prevent the fire spreading" had made the difference. "In most thatched property fires the entire roof usually has to be removed but in this case we salvaged as much of the roof as possible by making a fire break in the thatch and 80 per cent of the roof was saved. "This incident could have been much worse had crews not acted so quickly and efficiently." He added: "Around 90 per cent of Hampshire is rural and there are a considerable numbers of thatched properties in the county. "A thatched roof is always at risk from fire and once a fire has taken hold it will spread rapidly. "The most common causes of fire in a thatched building are faulty flues, stray sparks from the chimney, electrical faults, lightening affecting the TV aerial, discarded cigarettes and garden bonfires." Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service officers will be visiting premises in the Holybourne area to provide fire safety advice to local residents.
