Police are guarding a house in Chippenham following a serious fire overnight.
Several fire crews raced to tackle the flames at the newly-named Burnt Cottage in London Road in the early hours of this morning (Wednesday).
The home was previously gutted by fire and was derelict for many years. It was recently refurbished to a high standard and renamed the Burnt House.
Wiltshire 999s was first made aware of the emergency services’ presence at 1am – with at least three fire engines and several police vehicles in attendance.
After firefighters extinguished the raging inferno, police cordoned off the house as a crime scene – and are understood to have launched an investigation into events.
A fire investigator, working alongside police, is expected to attend the scene later today and comb for evidence that may indicate the blaze was started deliberately.
Nobody was at home when the fire broke out and as a result, nobody was injured.
A police officer is stationed outside the house – opposite The Pack Horse pub – but the road remains open. Further emergency vehicles were expected to attend later today.
A spokesperson for Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said they sent three crews from Chippenham and Calne to the incident.
On arrival, firefighters found a “fire within a ground floor living room”.
“Six breathing apparatus wearers used two hose reel jets to extinguish the fire”, the spokesperson said. Adding: “No casualties were reported and no cause has been confirmed.”
Wiltshire Police said it is investigating the cause of the blaze and no arrests have been made.
“Any witnesses are encouraged to contact us on 101 quoting log 11 of today’s date”, a spokesperson added.
