FIVE people have been taken to hospital following a house fire in Swindon.

The Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service was called to the semi-detached house in Cricklade Road at 2.48am and found a well-developed fire that was affecting the whole of the property.

A man, a woman and three children had escaped from the house prior to firefighters arriving and were in the care of South Western Ambulance Service.

It is believed that the man suffered serious burns, while the other four occupants were treated for minor burns and smoke inhalation.

The road surrounding the scene, between Headlands Grove and Cirencester Way/Kembrey Street, was closed until around 9.50am, causing traffic delays in the area.

A spokesman from the Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service said: "The blaze was initially tackled by five fire crews – two from Swindon, two from Stratton and one from Westlea – supported by the aerial appliance from Swindon, an operational support unit from Swindon and an incident command vehicle from Stratton.

"Most of the house has been severely damaged by the fire, in part because internal doors were either open or the layout was open plan - this meant that the flames were able to spread quickly throughout the home.

"The loft hatch was also open, which allowed the fire to also spread into the roof void.

"Six firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used three hose reel jets and a main jet to put the fire out, while the aerial appliance was used to enable external firefighting and also give firefighters access to the roof, where tiles were stripped away."

At shortly after 6am, the incident started to be scaled back to two fire appliances – one from Cricklade and one from Corsham – and the aerial appliance, the spokesman added.

"In addition to the fire crews, the British Red Cross fire and emergency support service was mobilised from Swindon fire station," he said.

"Its team of volunteers looked after people from an adjacent house whose property was also damaged after the fire spread through the roof.

"The fire, started in the kitchen, remains under investigation but is not believed to be suspicious at this time."

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The road re-opened at around 9.50am.

A range of advice on how to minimise the risk of fire in the home can be found on Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service’s website – www.wiltsfire.gov.uk/safetyinthehome.

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Are you in the area? Did you see the fire? Send us pictures to newsdesk@swindonadvertiser.co.uk, or call 01793 501793.