Thatched roof of listed cottage destroyed by fire

A FIRE which destroyed the roof of a listed cottage was started accidentally, an investigator has found.

Hunters Lodge in Broadhempston was severely damaged by the fire which started in the roofspace above the bathroom.

A fire investigation has determined it was started accidentally as a result of an 'electrical event'. Damage was so severe it was not possible for the investigator to say if it was a fault which caused the fire.

Eight pumps from Totnes, Newton Abbot, Buckfastleigh, Ashburton and Torquay were sent to the Grade II listed building at 2pm on Thursday, September 19.

An incident command unit from Totnes, the aerial ladder platform and water foam carrier from Torquay joined them at the scene due to the danger posed by a thatched roof blaze.

The immediate area around the building, on the edge of the village, was closed and firefighters wore breathing masks to fight the blaze.

Smoke rising from the burning building could be seen from the other side of the village. Speaking from the scene group commander Nick Jones said: "Because it was a thatched roof fire we mobilized a lot of assets. On arrival the first crews found a serious developing fire within the roof of the property and immediately started to attack the blaze. It was quickly established the property was unoccupied and no people were involved."

Within an hour the roof of the building had started to collapse.

Firefighters used two compressed air foam jets, two hose reels and six sets of breathing apparatus.

The distraught owner arrived at about 3.30pm to see his home in flames. By 4pm crews worked to removed thatch from the roof and salvage what they could from the four-bedroom building. They stayed at the scene through the evening removing thatch to a safe area.
Firefighters were still dampening down the cottage on Friday morning.

The roof was completely destroyed as was one third of the first floor. The ground floor was still intact, but the cob walls had absorbed a lot of water during the firefighting operation.

The fire service could not confirm whether or not the building would have to be demolished.





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Looking to buy a thatched property?

If you are looking for a thatched property to buy, the Guardian reports, you could do worse than taking a look at a website called Period Property UK. Also good for finding castles and medieval manor houses, apparently!

You can find the Period Property website here.

When we looked this morning we found this somewhat compromised thatched cottage in Norfolk.

Survey of thatched fire causation and outcomes

A new report from scientific consulting and engineering firm Burgoynes has thrown some interesting new light on what causes thatch fires.

Burgoynes investigate 20-30 thatch fires a year.  While thatch fires represent a small proportion of building fires as a whole, they note, the losses are disproportionately high because thatched properties are generally of higher than average value and are frequently listed structures, leading to high repair costs. Thatch fires are also difficult to extinguish and tend to be in remote locations, with inadequate water supplies, leading to increased damage.

Whilst a few thatch fires are a result of the spread of fire from elsewhere inside or outside the building, the association with chimneys serving solid fuel fireplaces, stoves or ranges has been recognised for some time. Traditionally, it was assumed that the thatch was ignited by embers emitted from the chimney but this assumption was challenged in a 1988 report from RHM Technology,

This highlighted the possibility that heat transfer through the chimney structure into the thatch could cause fires to break out. Although no actual cases of high temperatures in thatch in buildings with chimneys in use were demonstrated in the report, this heat transfer theory has gained widespread acceptance over time amongst those with interests in thatch fires including Fire Brigades and Local Authorities. 

This lass led to statements such as that appearing on some fire brigade website warning that “more than 90% of fires in thatched properties are caused by faults in the flue or chimney”...

Read more here.

Firefighters battle to save East Garston thatched roof

FIREFIGHTERS from five local stations battled to save the thatched roof of an East Garston cottage yesterday (Sun) evening.

Watch manager Lee Glover, of Blue Watch at Newbury Fire Station said pumps were called at 7.18pm from Newbury, Hungerford, Swindon, Ramsbury and Wantage – around 25 firefighters – to the fire in the thatched roof of a cottage in Station Road.

“The thatch was well alight,” said Mr Glover, adding the cause was believed to be a log burner, lit for the first time yesterday.

Firefighters pulled out thatch either side of the fire, creating a break, to prevent it spreading further.

The thatch was 40 per cent damaged in the blaze.

“Normally we lose 90 per cent in a thatch fire,” added Mr Glover.

The blaze was extinguished by 11pm, when the fire fighting operation was scaled down to two pumps.

No-one was hurt.

One pump was left on watch to ensure the fire did not re-ignite and a Newbury crew inspected the fire at 7.30am today (Mon) when the incident was closed.

The roof was covered in tarpaulin sheets after the fire.

Read the full story in Newbury Today here

Close shave for Suffolk thatched roof

Firefighters were called to a chimney fire at a thatched property in The Street, Icklingham, Suffolk just after 7pm on 14 September.

Fortunately the fire did not affect the building's thatched roof and the  incident was under control by 8pm.

Read the full story on EADT24

Newbury fire crews partially save burning thatch roof

Newbury Today yesterday reported that fire crews from five stations in the local area battled to save the thatched roof of an East Garston cottage on Sunday evening.

Watch manager Lee Glover, of Blue Watch at Newbury Fire Station said pumps were called at 7.18pm from Newbury, Hungerford, Swindon, Ramsbury and Wantage – around 25 firefighters – to the fire in the thatched roof of a cottage in Station Road.

“The thatch was well alight,” said Mr Glover, adding the cause was believed to be a log burner, lit for the first time yesterday.

Firefighters pulled out thatch either side of the fire, creating a break, to prevent it spreading further.

The thatch was 40 per cent damaged in the blaze.

“Normally we lose 90 per cent in a thatch fire,” added Mr Glover.

The blaze was extinguished by 11pm, when the fire fighting operation was scaled down to two pumps.

No-one was hurt.

One pump was left on watch to ensure the fire did not re-ignite and a Newbury crew inspected the fire at 7.30am today (Mon) when the incident was closed.

The roof was covered in tarpaulin sheets after the fire.