Eight fire engines and several special appliances were sent to a fire in a thatched property near Walkern, after receiving a call reporting the blaze at 7:30pm.

The home in Bassus Green, Walkern, was severely damaged and part of the roof collapsed. No one was injured, the service confirmed.
Andy Hall, incident commander for the fire service, who attended, said: “The first crew and fire appliance on scene were faced with a well-developed fire involving 90% of the thatched roof.

Herts Fire Rescue are re-inspecting the property this is standard procedure to make sure no deep seats of fire have the opportunity to develop. Thermal imaging cameras will be used following a thatched fire last night in Walkern, Stevenage.

Station Commander James Rossano Bull shared images on Twitter. adding “Very sad to see fire taking hold in thatch as we all know how difficult it can be to halt the spread despite best efforts. We will always give 100% to make a difference”

Henry Pryor, an eyewitness, was in awe of HertsFRS Control who turned out in “significant force” this evening to tackle our neighbours’ house fire.