Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service have been mobilised to a residential property fire in Gunville this morning (Bank Holiday Thursday).
Half-a-dozen fire appliances from across the Island are in attendance at a residential address on Alvington Manor View having been alerted to a blaze at around 01:00.
Onlookers have described how flames can be seen lapping into the sky from within a rear garden of a property, however, it is currently unknown if the house has been affected.
The Fire and Rescue Service’s Incident Command Unit is also on scene, alongside duty officers.
Smoke can be seen billowing into the skies from miles around.
More fire appliances are currently en-route to the incident.
UPDATE @ 01:40 – Island Echo understands the fire started in the garden which has subsequently caused damage to the rear of the property, melting guttering and fascias.
Locals have reported that the fire is under control and everyone is safely accounted for.
UPDATE @ 06:10 – It has been confirmed that the blaze has destroyed 2 sheds and a number of other items, spread across 2 gardens to the rear of terraced properties.
The fire has affected the facade of a total of 5 residential properties but did not spread to the inside of any of the homes. The heat caused bedroom windows to crack.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service says that crews from Newport, Ryde, East Cowes and Shanklin were called to the scene at 00:44 and extinguished the blaze using 1 main jet, 2 hose reel and 8 breathing apparatus. A total of 11 calls were made to the control room.
Incident Commander Sean Harrison says:
”Due to the great and fast work from crews, the fire spread only within the garden areas, affecting the outbuilding sheds, and did not reach the inside of the terraced properties nearby.
“I want to thank our crews for their fast and effective work to avoid fire spread this evening”.
The stop message was relayed at 03:04.
Bloody hell. A fair bit if damage. So lucky the houses didn’t go up. Cause?
Meth lab.
They lit their beacon too soon, or the hooch still went up…
oh that late night fag.
Have to laugh at the incident commander trying to blow his own trumpet ,,, no damage inside lol smoke damage at a very minimum which is bad enough as property would be uninhabitable .
the lads did good job tho