OVER the border assistance was needed on October 24, when two fire appliances from Launceston were joined by one appliance from Holsworthy to tackle a fire on the ground floor of a domestic property in St Giles on the Heath.

The crews were mobilised following a call at 11.56pm from the occupant after they had discovered a fire on the ground floor of their property. They were in the process of being evacuated at the time of the call.

Upon arrival the crews were able to confirm that the property was well alight and that all occupants had been accounted for.

The crews then set to work tackling the fire. By this point it had spread over two floors. They used two breathing apparatus and two hose reel jets to extinguish. Two further fire appliances were also mobilised from Tavistock and Callington for water and breathing apparatus.

Crews extinguished the fire using four breathing apparatus, two hose jets, one covering jet, a safety jet, a thermal imaging camera and a positive pressure ventilation fan.

The occupants of the property — an adult male and three children, aged five, seven and 11 — were all taken to hospital via land ambulance after suffering from smoke inhalation.

Reports showed that 50% of the ground floor of the property was severely damaged by fire, with the remainder of the ground floor and first floor sustaining severe smoke and heat damage. The cause of the fire is still currently under investigation and further examinations are being carried out during daylight hours.