Firefighters spent over 2-and-a-half hours at the scene of a large fire in Totland last night (Sunday), which has resulted in the complete destruction of a former scout hut.
The photograph above reveals the extent of the damage caused when flames engulfed the derelict building off The Broadway at just before 19:40. Despite the best efforts of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, the hut couldn’t be saved.
The size of the blaze and the threat of it spreading to nearby properties led to 8 appliances being mobilised to the scene, including appliances from the mainland. However, by 20:45 the situation was under control and a number of resources were stood down with the incident scaled back.
3 main jets, 2 hose reels, breathing apparatus and a safety jet were all used to tackle the fire, with the stop message eventually put in at 22:20.
The cause of the fire is unknown, however, locals have told Island Echo that a group of youths were seen playing with fire in the area last Thursday and were sighted again last night.
Still relying on mainland support, then?
It’s getting harder to recruit on call fire fighters with Hampshire sticking to the rules with no flexibility, i.e. if you live more than 5 mins away from the station (on a route planner that uses main roads and doesn’t include short cuts you would use) you will not be selected for interview as the pump is timed at a maximum of 6 mins to get out the door, 1 min to get your gear on. That’s the trouble now, common sense and local knowledge are out the window.
need cover for another emergency that may happen at the same time.
Oh well, insurance job, a new house will spring up in its place i’ve no doubt.
Will this count for the firelighting badge?
How about showing appreciation for the work our firefighters do?
When they get a shout they don’t know the scale of the incident and surely it is best to be safe than sorry by alerting mainland fire crews ….
How about if it was your house on fire ?
Wouldn’t you want them to attend ???????
They put their lives at risk ,so a massive Thank You would be nice ….
Well said Miss Sensible. Colin though your comment isn’t really that great huh?? Let’s hope you don’t ever need to give out badges if you need to call upon the fire brigade to put a fire which destroys your property!!