Fire crews battle 8-hour blaze in Thatcham

Police investigating after house fire in Park Avenue, Thatcham last night (Friday)

THREE fire crews spent eight hours tackling a blaze which ripped through a two-story terrace house in Thatcham last night (Friday).

Fire fighters from Newbury along with crews from Dee Road and Kingsclere were called to Park Avenue, Thatcham, at 8.32pm after reports of flames coming from an end-terrace house.

Two floors of the building were fully alight, and the fire soon spread to the roof as two pumps, an aerial appliance, and breathing apparatus were used to try and halt the blaze.

One female casualty was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital as Red Cross emergency support crews and Thames Valley Police were also on hand to help as the teams fought throughout to douse the flames.

A spokeswoman for South Central Ambulance Service, Ngozi Fakeye, said the woman was outside the property when emergency services attended, and was admitted to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

At 4.33am, the operation was scaled back to one pump and an investigation was launched into the cause of the fire.

A spokeswoman for Thames Valley Police, Andrea Bennett, said police were working with fire officers, but the fire was being treated as "unexplained" as of 10.30am today.

For more on this story, see next week's Newbury Weekly News.