A huge explosion in southern Newbury forced residents to be evacuated from their homes in the early hours of this morning.
Firefighters confirmed that a gas canopy in a shed in the back garden of a property in Bodin Gardens exploded around 1:20 a.m., causing a huge fire that destroyed neighboring gardens, fences and spread to the tree line on the east side of the A339.
Eyewitnesses say a fire was burning in the back garden of the property before the explosion.
Fire crews were called and four engines from the Newbury, Hungerford and Teal fire station were working with fire hoses.
Residents had to be evacuated from their homes The fire spread from the fire to the shed Two people were taken to hospital
Two people received medical treatment on the spot with burns and were taken to hospital.
Eyewitnesses say the fire started late at night, which then spread to a shed where gas canisters were stored.
Residents of four properties were evacuated but were allowed back into their homes around 3:30 p.m.
Four fire trucks were present at the site of the explosion in Bodin Gardens (57636314)
Newbury Fire Chief Phil Knight said: “Four crews were present at a large fire in the back garden of the Bodin Gardens property this morning.
“We had reports of explosions.
“Two were served by an ambulance and taken to hospital.
“The fire is not suspicious.
“The crews stayed there for about two hours and the crew checked the scene this morning.
A spokesman for the South Central Ambulance said: “We were notified at 1.24am by one of our crews who was in the local fire / explosion area.
“We sent an ambulance team, a paramedic team leader and our hazard response team (HART) to the scene.
“They assessed and treated two patients at the scene for their injuries and after treatment at the scene, all our crews were subsequently taken to Royal Berkshire Hospital.
Watch a video on the consequences of the fire here
Add Comment