Eight fire engines called to blaze at homes in Calder Vale

Firefighters remain at the scene of a major fire in Calder Vale which raged through two terraced homes overnight.
The homes were destroyed by the fireThe homes were destroyed by the fire
The homes were destroyed by the fire
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VIDEO: 40 firefighters battle major fire at house in Newton

Fire Services say that the two homes on Vale Terrace were completely destroyed by the fire which threatened to spread to a third when they arrived at around 7.30pm on Tuesday.

Crews from Garstang and Bamber Bridge say they spotted smoke plumes from the motorway several miles away as they made their way to the scene.

The homes were destroyed by the fireThe homes were destroyed by the fire
The homes were destroyed by the fire
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On arrival firefighters were met with huge flames at roof level and with smoke billowing down the street.

Firefighters requested a further six fire engines which included the Aerial Ladder Platform from Lancaster and the command support unit from Hyndburn. The air support unit was also called out.

Firefighter Rob Ridgway from Bamber Bridge Fire Station said: "We could see large amounts of smoke from several miles away on the motorway.

"When we arrived at the incident there was two terraced properties that were well alight with the fire starting to encroach on a third.

Aerial pictures show smoke pouring from the propertiesAerial pictures show smoke pouring from the properties
Aerial pictures show smoke pouring from the properties
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"We could see from the end of the street that flames were coming out of the roof top. As we pulled up outside the properties we could see that the front door of one of the houses had already failed with the windows also failing shortly after.

"We had to find access to water which was made more difficult with it being a remote and rural area.

"Our priority was to stop the fire spreading into the third house - thanks to the hard work of the crews we managed to stop it spreading into that home.

"Unfortunately, the other two homes were completely destroyed."

Fire crews battled the fire through the nightFire crews battled the fire through the night
Fire crews battled the fire through the night
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At its height, eight engines and 40 firefighters were called out to bring the blaze under control.

Pictures from the scene show the devastating impact of the blaze which burnt through two terraced homes destroying the roofs and top floors of the properties.

A spokesman for the fire service said: "It was suspected that gas cylinders may be involved. After assessment the cylinders were deemed safe and crews set about tackling the fire which involved two terraced properties using three jets and two breathing apparatus.

"Fire crews remained at the scene overnight and at midnight the incident was reduced to two pumps."

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Fire services say they currently do not know how the fire started and investigations to establish the cause are currently underway.

One family was forced to find emergency accommodation as a result of the incident .

Nobody was injured in the incident.

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