Roof collapses as 'serious' fire completely guts home

A 'very serious' house fire that caused the property's roof to collapse has been brought under control this evening.

Fire crews were called to the blaze in St Anne's Road in Widnes shortly before 6pm. They entered the house to tackle the fire, but were later withdrawn after concerns about the roof collapsing. The road was closed as crews dealt with the incident, but this has since reopened.

An update from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said that the fire has been brought under control and gas and electricity have been disconnected at the property.

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The ECHO understands the house was vacant at the time of the fire, after being put up for auction in February. Firefighters will remain on the scene overnight as they continue to damp down and remove roof material.

People have been advised to avoid the area while operations continue. Gas network operators Cadent were also on the scene this evening, but confirmed the fire was not gas related.

A statement from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Shortly before 18:00, North West Fire Control received multiple reports of a serious house fire. On arrival, crews found the whole of a semi-detached brick-built property well alight.

"Four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were initially deployed into the house to tackle the fire with hose reel water jets, while main water jets were aimed at the exterior and roof.

"The firefighters have since been withdrawn owing to roof becoming unstable and collapsing. External firefighting is ongoing. People are advised to avoid the area while operations continue."

In a later update, the fire service added: "The fire has been brought under control and crews are damping down and removing roof material. Gas and electricity to the property has been disconnected. An investigation into the cause of the fire will begin once the structure is assessed as being safe to enter.

"The number of appliances has been reduced to three, staffed by relief crews. They are likely to remain at the scene overnight as they continue to damp down."

A spokesperson for Cadent said: "We attended the fire on St Anne's Road in Widnes after being requested to attend the scene by emergency services. We carried out checks to ensure the properties affected were gas safe and can confirm that the fire was not gas related."

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