A blaze took hold in the loft of a property on the Ballard Estate in Swanage, completely wrecking the roof.
Fire crews from Swanage, Wareham, Poole, Westbourne, Hamworthy and a water carrier from Ringwood were called in to tackle the fire, which was spotted just before 1.10 pm on Friday 4th August 2023.
The bungalow’s roof on fire
Originally baracks for Canadian soldiers
Smoke drifted across the Ballard Estate which was originally built as barracks for Canadian troops during World War One.
The fire in the single storey detached property was tackled by stripping tiles from the roof to get better access to the source of the fire, while six firefighters with breathing apparatus doused the flames using hose reel jets and main lines.
The smoke could be soon for miles around
There were solar panels on one side of the roof
Tiles were removed to allow the water to get to the fire
“Crews were on the scene for several hours”
Swanage Fire Station reported:
“We were sent to a property fire in town and on arrival we were met with a developed fire in the roof space in the property.
“Crews were on the scene for several hours and a re-inspection took place at 9 pm. The incident was then closed down.”
The gutted roof space
Five fire crews were deployed to tackle the blaze
Swanage Lifeboat crews also in action
An hour beforehand, the Swanage Lifeboat crew were called out at 12.04 pm on Friday 4th August 2023 to help an injured paddle boarder at Old Harry in Studland.
Swanage Lifeboat Station reported:
“Once on the scene, the inshore lifeboat crew found that the paddle boarder had sustained a nasty knee injury after falling off his board and onto a rock.
“Assistance was requested from the all weather lifeboat to provide pain relief and a more comfortable platform to be able to transport the casualty.”
Swanage’s all weather lifeboat returns towards home after rescuing an injured paddle boarder
Smoke from the fire could be seen by all the boats in Swanage Bay
Damage to his knee
Given the damage to his knee, an ambulance was requested. The lifeboat carrying the injured man headed towards the landing stage in Poole Harbour, where an ambulance was waiting to take him to hospital.
This allowed the lifeboat to head back to Swanage, passing within clear sight of the fire from the burning bungalow.
