Two families have been left homeless after a terraced house blaze which was sparked by repairs on the FIRE STATION next door, it’s feared.
Flames ripped through the four houses destroying part of the roof.
Six fire engines were called to tackle the blaze.
But not from Ventnor Fire Station next to it, in Ventnor, Isle of Wight.
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They came from Shanklin which is six miles and 20 minutes away.
The inferno was put out within three hours, as reported by Needs To Know.
However, the fire brigade thinks it may have been triggered by the fire station roof being fixed.
The hot works were being carried out before the fire started.
It happened on 7 June, but the investigation’s initial findings have only just been confirmed.
During the fire, the responding crews made use of the scaffolding at the fire station to access the properties.
James Lucy, assistant director of operations for Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, has said: “Hot work is regularly undertaken during construction and maintenance projects and requires careful and active risk management.
“Our contractor followed due process to secure a permit for the works, which included completing a full risk assessment prior to starting the works on the roof.
“The permit requires that measures are put in place to mitigate identified risks as far as possible.
“We recognise that this incident has significantly impacted our neighbours and caused some concern across the community.
“We will be reaching out to those affected and offering our full support following this unfortunate event.
“We are taking this matter extremely seriously and there will be a thorough and independent review into the specific circumstances”.
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