FIREFIGHTERS from Ringwood helped battle a thatch fire in Sopley near Christchurch.
The two crews from the town joined fellow firefighters from Hampshire and Dorset at the incident yesterday evening (Thursday), which was reported at 5.41pm.
On arrival crews found the thatch roof was well alight and quickly set to work tackling the intense fire.
Officer in charge Station Manager Thompson said: "The firefighters did a fantastic job in salvaging most of the contents of the house whilst fighting the fire from outside. During the fire the chimney stack had become unstable so it wasn't safe for our crews to fight the fire from inside. They tackled the fire from outside in a controlled manner."
Four Hampshire crews from the New Forest area were in attendance along with three crews from Dorset. Its aerial ladder platform was also sent to the scene.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is reminding residents to ensure they have working smoke alarms in the home.
For more information on fire safety in the home go to hantsfire.gov.uk/keeping-safe/
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