Councillor Chris page tells Mike Waddington he's very impressed with the response to the fire in Lavant Street.

He commends the Emergency Services and Utility companies that attended speedily. And he also the staff at the Town Council and East Hants who offered help and he showed me some of the many messages he received from people who offered beds, rooms and an Air BnB flat (that was used by an evacuated family with two children).

I spoke to a family whose mother had been safely evacuated but said a lot of damage had been done to the flat and was very upsetting for them. There was a Fire Officer there who was helping families like this retrieve belongings and making sure they had places to stay and Chris's help was asked for and he swung into action.

There is a cordon on Lavant and Chapel Streets which means a number of businesses are closed. Structural engineers are to attend to survey the damage from the fire and the impact of the water necessarily used, so he area will be sealed off until then.

Businesses close to the cordon are open; I spoke to Adam at Maia's Flowers who explained the effects for them. he also said business neighbours were in touch with each other and believed the damage to some was 'devastating.'

The Petersfield Fire Service told me: "the team worked hard in challenging conditions. Incidents like these remind the public why we need a community run fire station, which ensures they get a fire appliance when they need it as early as possible."

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