More arrests after construction site fire

It has been reported that a fourth person has now been arrested in connection with the huge blaze which swept through a building site in Hampshire on Friday evening.

The boy, aged 12, joins three other 15-year-olds who have also been arrested on suspicion of starting the fire that devastated the flats and caused danger to firefighters tackling the blaze.

Over 100 firefighters were needed on the scene after the flats, still under construction, on Gershwin Road, Basingstoke, were set alight.

Home evacuations from nearby properties were also required due to the ferocity of the blaze, with around 40 residents kept away from their properties until Saturday evening.

The four boys have been bailed until the 3rd of November as an investigation is launched into the circumstances surrounding the fire.

A witness, who saw two young people fleeing from the site earlier, has now come forward to police and is helping them with their enquiries.

This fire was just another incident surrounding the controversial use of timber frame constructed buildings.
Chief officer John Bonney, of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said:

“When these buildings catch fire the actual structure burns. It often leads to total collapse and that puts the safety of our firefighters at risk.”