Devizes fire fighters had a short way to go to a thatched house that was on fire.

The crew had been sent to Ludgershall Fire Station to provide cover as the Ludgershall engine was helping at a major fire in Weyhill, Hampshire, on Sunday night.

The Devizes crew had only been at Ludgershall for half an hour when, at about 7.15pm, fire fighters Mike Cleaver and Luke Williams popped out to a shop to get a snack. Members of the public approached them and told them that smoke was coming from the roof of a thatched house.

The fire fighters went to have a look, saw a fire was beginning to break out in the thatch around the chimney and called the rest of the crew out. They sprayed water on it and two firefighters went up a ladder and ripped off some thatch to create a fire break.

Because it was a thatch fire, other engines were also sent from Pewsey, Amesbury, Marl-borough, Salisbury, Swindon, Stratton and Hungerford. The fire was out in two hours but Devizes, Pewsey and Amesbury crews stayed until midnight.

The house is in a terrace and firefighters went into the roof space of it and the adjoining homes using thermal imaging equipment to make sure the fire was out.

Iain Taylor, crew manager at Devizes who was in charge of tackling the fire, said: “I think that was the quickest shout I had been out on – the property was 100 yards down the road from the station in Castle Street. We were there within seconds.

“The home owners had returned from being out and had been alerted by members of the public, about the same time as we were.

“There was no damage inside the property which was a really good save. Being on the spot paid dividends. Had we not been there it could have been worse.

“The nearest crew would have been Pewsey and it would have taken them about five to ten minutes to get there.”