Fire warning on thatch properties (From Somerset County Gazette)

Fire warning on thatch properties

10:00am Sunday 14th March 2010

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OWNERS of thatched properties are being advised to check their chimneys.

The warning comes from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service – whose patch contains 80% of the UK’s thatched buildings – after two major thatch fires this month.

A fire spokesman said: “Fire in thatch is not an inevitable occurrence, but it is an organic material, subject to different behaviour patterns depending on its surroundings, treatments and choice of materials or styles.

“It has a finite life span, measured in tens rather than hundreds of years and, above all, is combustible.

“Fire in a thatched roof is difficult to detect and once started is almost impossible to control as it will spread rapidly, due to the very nature of how thatch burns and detection is often too late and invariably devastating.

“A thatched home can be ruined not only by the fire but by the amount of water needed to put it out.

“Within an ancient cottage water can dissolve old cob walls as well as causing serious water damage throughout.”

Among tips for thatched property owners are to sweep your chimney regularly and to fit and maintain smoke alarms.

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