POLICE and fire investigators are trying to discover the cause of an ‘intense’ blaze which destroyed two neighbouring cottages in a remote part of West Somerset on Saturday (June 7).

Crews from Minehead, Williton, and Nether Stowey were among dozens of firefighters who battled the fire in the hamlet of Stringston, between Holford and Stogusey.

The incident happened while the area was under an all day Met Office yellow weather warning for electrical storms and heavy rain which brought the threat of lightning strikes and flash flooding.

A number of 999 calls were made shortly after 10 am to Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue (DSFR) from people still inside the first building which caught alight and from their neighbours.

Fire control staff initially mobilised three appliances from Nether Stowey, Williton, and Bridgwater to the incident in Dyche Road.

A DSFR spokesperson said: “We remained on the phone to callers until we could confirm that all persons were out of the properties, as the initial fire was spreading to an adjoining cottage.”

The first firefighters to arrive on scene immediately confirmed the building was ‘well alight’ and DSFR despatched a further appliance from Minehead and a water carrier from Bridgwater.

However, the blaze quickly spread to the adjoining property and a second fire appliance was mobilised from Minehead with another from Taunton and a further water carrier from Yeovil.

A command support unit was then sent from Street and an incident support vehicle from Martock, together with a selection of specially skilled officers to support the escalating operation.

Crews also attended from Cheddar, and from Crediton, in Devon, while the Wellington station provided cover for stations which had been deployed.

The blaze was so intense and so much damage was caused that the firefighters were forced to stay outside of the two properties to battle the flames until they were satisfied the fire was out.

It took five hours for the fire to be brought under control in the middle of the afternoon with the crews using six sets of breathing apparatus, six water jets, a variety of ladders to access roof spaces, ceiling hooks, and thermal imaging cameras to check for fire spread and hotspots.

DSFR’s spokesperson said: “The cause of the fire is still under investigation and therefore remains unknown at this time.

“Luckily, there were no casualties.”

The spokesperson said local fire station crews returned some hours later to carry out a safety re-inspection.

They said fire investigation officers from DSFR and Avon and Somerset Constabulary were continuing their investigations into the cause of the incident.

The spokesperson said: “Duty of care has been left with the police and our crews have come away from scene until our revisit.”

The incident caused shock among some Holford residents who had been on alert for possible flooding due to the Met Office storm warning.

There was also confusion as to the location of the drama when some media reports referred to Holford being ‘on Exmoor’, but relief that nobody had been injured.