Fire crews tackled Hungerford chimney blaze for 14 hours

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service has explained the cause of a residential fire that temporarily closed a road in Hungerford on Tuesday.

The blaze broke out at a property in Eddington in the evening, starting in the chimney and spreading to the thatched roof.

Fire crews received reports of the incident at 7.12pm and battled the blaze overnight for 14 hours.

As firefighters remained on the scene, the A338 at Eddington Hill was partially blocked both ways.

A RBFRS spokesperson said: “Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service crews from Hungerford, Newbury, Bracknell, Theale, Whitley Wood, Maidenhead, Mortimer, Caversham Road, Wokingham, Wokingham Road, Crowthorne, Windsor, Langley, Ascot and Slough attended the scene, alongside four officers.

“Specialist vehicles were also in attendance, including two incident control units from Maidenhead and a water carrier from Bracknell.

“Additional support from Dorset and Wiltshire and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Services was also provided.”

He continued: “Upon arrival crews discovered a fire in a chimney that had spread to a thatched roof.

"Crews worked at height using ladders to extinguish the fire with five hose reels, before maintaining fire breaks and damping down at the property.

“Crews were on the scene for approximately 14 hours and 14 minutes with further re-inspections of the scene being carried out.”