CAUSE of the fire which at one point threatened a row of three thatched cottages last night has been put down to a faulty wood burner.
Eleven crews and 40 firefighters were called to Main Street, Witchford, near Ely at 9pm last night to tackle the blaze.
The rescue workers took nearly two hours to contain the fire which was confined mainly to the roof.
Today fire chiefs said a fault with the wood burner’s flue was almost certainly the reason for the fire.
The home owner was in the garden at the time of the fire and spotted the flames and summoned help.
Fire fighters from across the county – and from Suffolk took- have been called to help extinguish the blaze.
Two crews from Cambridge, one crew from Ely, one crew from Littleport, one crew from Chatteris, one crew from Soham and two crews from Newmarket are at the scene.
There was also a turntable ladder from Cambridge, a water carrier from Yaxley and an incident command unit from Huntingdon.
At 11.35pm last night the fire service announced the fire had been put out.
“The fire affected three properties covering approximately 30m by 15m,” said a spokesman.
“Four firefighters wore breathing apparatus and six hose reels, two jets and one hydrant was used to extinguish the fire.
“There are still eight crews in attendance. “
At 3am the fire service announced “the incident has been scaled back over the last few hours and all crews have now returned to their stations.”
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