Roof collapses after house fire in Southend (From Echo)

Roof collapses after house fire in Southend

6:28pm Saturday 22nd September 2012 in Local News

A FIRE that destroyed the roof of a house in Southend may have been caused by a blow torch sparking after it had been switched off.

Firefighters from Southend and Leigh were called to a house, which is currently being renovated, in Hartingdon Road at 4.30pm on Saturday, September 22.

The roof of the two-storey property, which is behind the Cornucopia pub, was heavily smoke logged when the fire crews arrived and later collapsed.

Large crowds, which had headed to Southend to enjoy the autumn sun that afternoon, watched in the street as a large cloud of smoke billowed across the sky.

A joint police and fire investigation was launched and the cause of the blaze was found to be accidental.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “It was found to have started after workmen in the loft, who had been using blow torches, had left.

“The loft insulation in the roof would have contained the fire for a long time which is another reason why it would not have been seen from the outside for a while.”

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