David Ruffles, chair of Bardwell Parish Council, and Bardwell district councillor Andrew Smith on Low Street five-home fire
A fire which ripped through five thatched homes in a village has been described as devastating for the community by its leaders.
All occupants made it out safely as well as their pets; Bardwell councillors said the village rallied around to help with the incident as well as those affected by the blaze.
David Ruffles, chairman of Bardwell Parish Council, said he had been down to the scene of the blaze and described the damage as very severe.
“It’s devastating for the community, it’s unimaginable what happened there,” he said.
“It’s just an awful situation. On behalf of the parish council, I want to offer my heartfelt condolences to those affected – it’s a terrible, terrible situation.
Cllr Ruffles said the village rallied around in the wake of the blaze, helping out and offering shelter, as well as helping to tackle a burst water main at the same time as the blaze.
As water was needed to fight the fire, supplies could not be turned off, so villagers made makeshift dams and dug trenches to ensure houses were not in danger of flooding.
Cllr Ruffles also gave his thanks and praise to the emergency service response to the blaze.
“We would like to praise, very highly, the response from the Suffolk and Norfolk fire services as well as Suffolk Highways, UK Power Networks and the gas company, who had to dig up the road.
“We have to give them credit where credit is due, they did a sterling job.”
The Tithe Barn was open last night and remains so today offering a place of comfort, shelter and respite to those who need it.
Andrew Smith, West Suffolk Councillor for Bardwell, said the village activated its emergency plan in the wake of the incident, which includes opening the barn as a respite facility.
Speaking from the Tithe Barn today, he said: “Despite everything we did and we’re still doing, it’s devastating for the five families whose properties have been affected by the fire.
“As a community, we all feel for these five families and we’ve rallied around them. I’ve lived here 21 years and there’s a trend in Bardwell – it’s an actual community.
“When we have emergencies like yesterday, which was a major incident, we pull together and we help each other, trying to support those who have lost their homes.”
Lee Wilkins, the fire service’s incident commander for the Bardwell fire, said there has been extensive damage to the properties.
He confirmed there had been some water mains issues in the area during the course of the blaze, and the fire service had worked with Anglian Water to solve them.
Two of the families affected by the blaze were put up in The Six Bells Inn, in Davey’s Lane, for the night.
Margaret Grimoldby, owner of The Six Bells of 19 years, said: “We put a couple of the families up for the night, it was certainly the decent thing to do.
“We didn’t go into too many details with them but we told them if they need accommodation to let us know.
“I don’t know the people from the village whose homes were affected, but anybody decent would do something like that.”
Teams from Princes Street, Beccles, Needham Market, Sudbury, Long Melford, Wickhambrook, Bury St Edmunds, Elmswell and Ixworth were fighting the fire, alongside assistance from Norfolk Fire and Rescue.
