A SALE had been agreed just last week on the property gutted by a large fire in Christchurch on Wednesday evening.

The detached house in Oak Avenue suffered extensive damage in the blaze, which spread to neighbouring properties in Chestnut Avenue.

As reported by the Daily Echo, around 70 firefighters tackled the incident late into the night, however, no injuries were sustained.

The estate agent dealing with the sale of the Oak Avenue house said a young family had been set to complete their purchase at the end of July.

Bournemouth Echo:

Sarah Oliver, executive branch manager at Palmer Snell estate agents in Christchurch, said: “The main thing is I was thankful that nobody was hurt. The buyers of the house, a young family with children, were due to complete on the sale of the house at the end of this month.

“When they saw a fire in Oak Avenue they asked straight away if it was the one they were buying and I had to say yes.

“They are obviously upset as they had big plans for the house.

“I was still at work when another work colleague alerted me to the fire. I left immediately and went to make sure my vendors were okay. They were with the ambulance crew when I arrived and I was let through to see them.

“I’m just so glad they got out of the house.”

The fire service launched an investigation into the cause of the fire yesterday. This process is still ongoing, however, it is not believed to be suspicious.

Bournemouth Echo:

At the height of the incident, 14 fire engines were at the scene from across Dorset and Hampshire, while BCP Council provided emergency accommodation for one household, and two further households were assisted in securing accommodation locally.

Lorraine Mealings, BCP Council director of housing, said: “On Wednesday night an officer from our housing team attended the site of a fire in the Oak Avenue area of Christchurch.

“We continued to support the families yesterday and have put them in touch with third party agencies who will continue to provide assistance.”

Commons ward councillor Colin Bungey said: “I went round yesterday morning and the scale of the devastation is incredible. The building is completely destroyed.

“There were residents about and they were clearly concerned about what had happened. It is good to see people have been offering to help in any way they can. The main thing is nobody was hurt.”