Date: 21st July, 2025
Time: 3pm
Description: We were called to Bowden Hill, Lacock at 3pm today (21 July) for a fire involving a thatched property. We currently have multiple crews on scene – approx. 55 firefighters. Thatch is being stripped from the roof, with jets and compressed air foam in use to extinguish the fire. Firefighters are also working hard to salvage as many of the occupier’s possessions as possible. Due to the number of appliances on scene, Bowden Hill has been closed by Wiltshire Police and is likely to remain shut for some hours yet.
7.45pm update: Good progress is being made in bringing the fire under control, with thatch still being stripped from the roof and damping down continuing. We are due to scale back to eight fire appliances and support vehicles, and hope to scale back further later tonight. The road remains closed and is likely to be so until the morning. We will maintain a firefighting presence on scene through the night. A fire investigation will be carried out to determine the cause.
7.45am, 22 July: We have remained on scene throughout the night, scaling back our attendance to a one pump watching brief in the early hours of this morning. The fire is extinguished but there have been some hotspots in debris. A building control surveyor is attending later to advise on the property’s structural integrity. Further updates will be posted once this has happened.
10.45am, 22 July: The stop message came in at 10.05am and we have now left the scene. The road has been fully reopened, and the property has been handed back to the owner. A reinspection will be carried out this afternoon to ensure there are no hotspots. The fire started accidentally due to embers from a hedge fire caused by a bonfire. Our thanks go to the management and staff of the Bell Inn, Lacock for looking after our crews so well last night with food and refreshments.
Location: Bowden Hill, Lacock, Chippenham, UK