Family of five escape Kinver fire - but home and cars are gutted

Firefighters battled through the night to tackle the blaze in Huntsmans Walk, which started just after midnight on Wednesday night (May 23).

The family - believed to be two adults and three children - managed to escape the house without injury.

However, as the fire service's picture shows, the blaze has gutted the interior and roof of their property as well as severely damaging a white Citroen van and blue BMW X5 parked outside the house.

A statement from Staffordshire Fire said: "Fire Control received a report of a house fire in Huntsmans Walk, Kinver, at 12.25am today (Thurs).

"Crews attended from Kinver, Wombourne, Brierley Hill and Stourbridge.

"Upon arrival they found the detached home well alight, along with two vehicles.

"Thankfully all five occupants from the home had evacuated after they discovered the fire.

"They were uninjured but were checked over by paramedics at the scene as a precaution.

"Firefighters used two main jets and a hose reel jet to tackle the fire, working through the night.

"An appliance from Dudley also attended for a short while to provide relief cover, and the incident was scaled back to one appliance at 7.30am.

"Firefighters from Wombourne remain at the scene and a fire investigation is due to take place today."

A fire investigation took place on Thursday and it is believed the fire started accidentally.

However, due to the extent of the damage investigators have not been able to establish an exact cause.

Tim Hollingworth, fire investigation officer, said: “This fire was so severe it has completely devastated the house, leaving just a shell.

“Thankfully all of the residents escaped the home unscathed, which is the most important thing, but our thoughts are with them as they have lost absolutely everything.

“The investigation found that the fire began on the ground floor and quickly spread to the upper floors. A car and a van parked on the driveway were also destroyed.”