Fire crews from nine stations in the South Hams were mobilised to attend a residential fire in Dittisham, yesterday afternoon, (January 14).

Initial reports suggested the fire was in the roof of a building that was under construction.

On arrival the attending crew requested backup, and a further three appliances were sent accompanied by the incident command and welfare unit.

Fire crews tackled the blaze using; one main Jet, two hose reels, two fog spikes, a 135’ ladder and two breathing apparatus.

Crews on scene then requested a further two fire appliances to assist.

D&S fire later confirmed that the fire originated from a two storey building with photovalitc cells. Crews worked into the night to fight the blaze.

The fire was in a detached building used as a private dwelling and was accidental.

A spokesperson from D&S fire said: “This was a particularly difficult incident due to the nature of the building site being on a steep slope being very muddy and also very wet.

When crews returned to the station it took a very long time to get the appliance and equipment clean enough to use again along with cleaning of breathing apparatus.