TEN FAMILIES have been evacuated from their homes in the early hours of this morning after a blaze at a Hampshire property which is under construction.
A total of 40 firefighters have been on the scene for three hours tackling the huge flames that could be seen ripping through the two-storey building in Hatherley Road, Winchester.
The fire, which started just before 4.30am, was contained to the building thanks to the hard work by crews from across Hampshire but a partial collapse of the front of the building forced an evacuation of ten neighbouring properties.
The families were staying with friends and family, according to the fire service.
The development was four weeks away from being completed and was going to be a house and three flats by the firm Millgate.
According to Incident commander Mark Budden the roof collapsed quote quickly and the intensity of the blaze caused damage to cars parked nearby.
There was also a concern over gas being on the site.
Debris was reportedly scattered across nearby streets.
Commander Budden said: “We are very proud of what his team did this morning and because of the instability of the building and we could not go inside so we had to fight it defensivly from the outside."
Pockets of fire were still visible this morning.
Crews from Winchester, St Mary's, Redbridge, Eastleigh and Basingstoke have all been at the scene but the cause of the fire is not yet known.
With the fire under control, an investigation will get underway later this morning and the road will remain closed for some time.
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