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Updated: Bungalow fire in Rochford (From Echo)
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Updated: Bungalow fire in Rochford
7:30am Monday 1st June 2009
A FIERCE blaze has left a 100-year-old cottage uninhabitable.
The semi-detached home went up in flames about 10.30am yesterday morning in South Street, Rochford.
The householder, a man thought to be in his fifties, is being found alternative accommodation by the council.
Firefighters said the incident started after the man lit a bonfire in his back garden which spread to the roof of the home.
Three crews from Southend and one from Hawkwell fire stations battled hard to stop the blaze spreading to the adjoining cottage and extinguished it by 11.30am.
Assistant divisional officer Martyn Hodder, from Southend station said: “The fire quickly caught hold and spread into the roof void.
“Firefighters worked excellently and quickly prevented the fire from spreading into the adjoining property.
“The neighbouring resident was evacuated along with her two dogs.”
The first floor and roof of the cottage were badly burned while the adjoining property suffered smoke damage. Fire crews used power tools to cut into the roof so the fire could be completely extinguished.
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Your Say YourEcho
chunky52, Southend says...
8:45pm Sun 31 May 09
soul man, canvey says...
10:46pm Sun 31 May 09
Don South, says...
5:57pm Mon 1 Jun 09
youknowwhoiam, Westcliff says...
8:27pm Mon 1 Jun 09
Mark D, Westcliff-on-Sea says...
10:44pm Mon 1 Jun 09
youknowwhoiam wrote:Bizarrely, though, judging from the photo, this "bungalow" does...
Bungalows don't have first floors!
Southendian, says...
9:14am Tue 2 Jun 09
Mark D, Westcliff-on-Sea says...
12:55pm Tue 2 Jun 09
Mark D, Westcliff-on-Sea says...
12:56pm Tue 2 Jun 09
Southendian wrote:I bet whoever did it is lying LOW
Looks like the Echo has bungled the headline...
margrete, Rochford says...
2:31pm Tue 2 Jun 09
Because it's very old, vernacular style of building i.e. timber, it would burn like a tinder-box.
We were on our way to church Sunday morning and the whole of South Street was full of smoke. We diverted and went the long way round, Bradley Way and into Daleys Road. By the time we came home, approx 12.30 pm, it was all cleared. But what a mess, and how tragic for the owners. I gather they put a lot of time, money and effort into restoring the place. Hope the insurance was paid up to date!
Crews tackle the blaze. Pic by Essex Fire and Rescue Service
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evilc, essex says...
4:09pm Sun 31 May 09