A family could be left homeless after a ‘serious’ house fire broke out in Accrington on Monday afternoon.
Crews from Hyndburn Fire Station are currently on the scene of the blaze on Bold Street.
Bold Street and Washington Street were closed to traffic shortly after fire crews were called at around 2.55pm.
Garry Drinkwater, watch manager of Hyndburn Fire Station, told the Observer there they have evacuated two houses either side of the affected property, making five homes in total.
The neighbours will be allowed back in their homes within the next hour, but WM Drinkwater added: “The lady whose fire the house is at won’t be able to go back in. It’s not inhabitable.”
Fire crews were alerted to the blaze by a workman at a neighbouring house who smelled smoke, but the fire is believed to have started that morning due to an electrical fault.
WM Drinkwater said: “It’s believed that the fire had been going for about three and a half hours before we got there. We are thinking at the moment it is electrical and we have our fire investigation team on site.
"When we arrived there was smoke issuing from the roof. We broke in through the front door and there was a severe fire between the ceiling and the floor at the top of the landing area.
"We have had the urban search and rescue team out and they have come into shore up the ceiling because we can’t gain access to the bedrooms at the moment.”
