A hero off-duty fireman who rushed to the scene of the raging blaze in Northamptonshire said he watched in horror as ‘thick orange flames’ ate at the home’s solar panel-laden roof
Shocking doorbell camera footage captured the horror moment a fire ignited at a family’s home and tore through the £600,000 newbuild property.
The fire, which ignited at the home on Prospero Drive in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire on bank holiday Monday, burned through solar panels on its roof, with ring doorbell images showing it enfulged in flames by 10.30am. Firefighters scrambled to the property and rescued three adults and a child from the four-bedroom detached home.
Local residents have described the moment they saw the “big cloud of smoke” erupt from the property, with one hero off-duty firefighter rushing to the family’s aid.
Robert Shipman, who said he was doing DIY when he spotted the smoke leaping from the home’s roof, ran to his car and sped around the corner to the home to alert its occupants. Robert said: “As I was coming round the corner I saw a big cloud of smoke. I banged on the door and said I’m an off-duty firefighter can you please get out your house – it’s on fire.”
“The family didn’t realise their roof had gone, they were on the first floor. They got out and we managed to get two of their pets out. We knocked on the next door neighbour’s door and said there’s a fire, get out.”
Hero Robert said he was able to evacuate neighbouring homes in the area with the help of another two off-duty firemen who lived nearby. He added the fire became so dramatic that he could see thick, glowing flames emanating from the family home’s loft hatch, and said the door was also set alight.
He said: “You could see some really thick orange flames coming through the loft hatch. Where things had fallen off the roof it set fire to the door.
“I saw some Ring doorbell footage – I’ve never seen anything like it the roof just went.” The home wasn’t the only property damaged in the fire, with at least four cars parked nearby also damaged when tiling on the flaming property’s roof fell to the street below. Other residents said they watched on in horror as the family scrambled desperately to safety.
One local said: “It happened so suddenly, one minute the roof was smoking a little and the next it was a raging inferno “People around here are speculating the solar panels may have overheated but there’s not much left of them.
“I was chatting to a fella who lives around here who fits solar panels and he said if they are not connected properly and then you get lots of sunny weather, it can cause a surge of power which can cause a fire. It’s pretty scary because so many people have these things on their houses and with more heatwaves the worry is they’ll be more fires as a result.”
The mercury topped 28C on Sunday, and had already hit 22C at the time the fire ignited. Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has not ruled out the weather being a factor.
But investigators have been unable to enter the house due to structural problems so they are keeping an open mind. A spokesperson said: “At the moment we have no further information about the cause of the fire. Our fire investigators haven’t been able to access the inside of the house yet due to the structural damage caused by the fire.
“Five crews and an aerial appliance from Moulton attended the fire and quickly worked to extinguish the blaze which had started in the roof of the house.
“Three adults and one child were helped from the house by an off-duty firefighter. After an initial fire investigation, the fire is believed to have been started accidentally.”
A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police said: “Emergency services are at the scene of a major house fire in Wellingborough which started shortly before 10.45am on Monday. At least four fire appliances are at the scene of the blaze, at a detached new -build property in Prospero Drive. Nobody is believed to be inside the property.
“Police have closed a number of roads in the immediate area of the blaze which is also blowing smoke across the nearby A509. Members of the public are being asked to avoid the area and to close windows to prevent smoke getting inside.”
The houses on the estate were built by David Wilson Homes, part of Barratt Redrow. A spokesperson for the company said: “Our priority is supporting the residents affected, meanwhile we will provide any assistance required to the Fire Service as it investigates the cause of the fire.”
