FIREFIGHTERS believe an electrical fault was the cause of a fire that resulted in substantial damage to a home in Concord Close in Southwick late last Thursday (Aug 20).

The fire is thought to have started in a bedroom and caused extensive damage to the upper floor area, before fire crews from Trowbridge and Bradford on Avon stopped it from spreading throughout the rest of the building.

The two male occupants of the house were out at the time, but firefighters were alerted by a neighbour at 11.55pm after black smoke was seen bellowing from the first-floor bedroom window.

An investigation is still ongoing into the exact cause of the blaze, but early indications suggest that the fire was started after an electrical appliance in the bedroom overheated.

Trowbridge watch manager Guy Tadman said: “We believe that the fire was caused by an electrical fault and it caused substantial damage to the affected room.

“It also caused smoke damage to the rest of the property. The occupants were not in at the time and I believe they were out having dinner with friends when it occurred.

“We were alerted by one of the neighbours who saw the smoke coming from the property and when we arrived the flames were already broken out of the window of the bedroom.

“We used large covering jet from outside plus one hose reel jet on the inside to extinguish the fire, before using a fan to clear some of the some and hurry up the ventilation process. I would have though the occupants would have had to find somewhere else to stay due to the damage.”