AN investigation is under way after fire ripped through an office block in Southampton – just yards from a petrol station and a gas supplier.

Nearly 20 firefighters battled flames at a two-storey building in the Freightliner terminal in Millbrook Point Road, close to the Socal Calor Gas store in Third Avenue and the Texaco garage on the A33 Millbrook Road.

The fire took hold at 3.30am yesterday, sweeping through the ground floor of the container depot’s traffic office.

Members of the company’s security staff arrived within minutes before crews in four fire engines fought to contain the blaze and stop it spreading to nearby railway lines, cranes, shipping containers and lorries.

Company bosses and residents nearby praised firefighters for their actions in preventing what could have been a major disaster.

Commercial director Keith Gray was last night waiting to survey the full damage to the office, which is used as a checkpoint for lorries arriving at the depot with shipping containers.

He said the flames had “gutted” part of the ground floor and added: “At this stage we think it might be an electrical fault but it needs to be checked out thoroughly.”

Richard Cook, 70, who lives in nearby Regents Park Road, said: “It’s a bit worrying when you think how close the gas place is. But it was all dealt with and there are very good safety precautions.”

Sharon Mercier-Saunders, 40, who lives in Fawley Road, said: “It’s lucky we didn’t come off worse.”