Resident evacuated after Wincham house fire (From Northwich Guardian)

Resident evacuated after Wincham house fire

2:00pm Monday 17th September 2012 in News By Gina Bebbington

RESIDENTS were evacuated from their homes following a house fire in Wincham on Thursday.

The fire happened in a semi-detached house in Chapel Street at around 12.15pm.

Fire engines from Northwich, Knutsford and Winsford were called to tackle the flames.

Police and firefighters evacuated neighbouring and nearby properties to make sure residents were safe after fears of canisters catching light and exploding.

Chapel Street was closed on Thursday while emergency services were at work and residents clustered around the cordons to watch what was going on as they waited to be let back into their homes.

Pensioner Claire Dockney, who lives in Chapel Street opposite the property that caught fire, was cleaning when she saw the incident.

“I was cleaning the bedrooms and wiping the windowsills when I saw flames shooting out of the porch of the house,” she said.

“I thought ‘oh my God it’s on fire’.

“I was told to put my shoes on and get across the road to where it was safe.”

Another resident said he had been in the middle of mowing his lawn when he was evacuated.

Emergency services started to let residents back in their homes from 1.30pm.

A full fire investigation has been launched to discover the cause of the blaze.