MORE than 100 firefighters worked to tackle two separate thatch fires which flared up during the night.

Crews have been praised for their efforts for battling the major fires which engulfed properties in East Bexington near Abbotsbury and at Winterborne Tomson near Bere Regis on Wednesday.

A family at East Bexington praised heroic firefighters for rescuing ‘irreplaceable items’ from the fire which completely destroyed the thatched property’s roof and left the building unstable.

Pam and Brian Harvey praised crews who worked through the night to contain the blaze and salvage their belongings.

The couple were alerted to their ‘smouldering’ roof by a neighbour just before 6.30pm.

The flames spread rapidly as a result of the dry thatch and winds.

Ten fire engines, a water carrier and a Red Cross Fire and Emergency Support Vehicle attended and firefighters shuttled water from Abbotsbury.

Local government officer Mrs Harvey said: “I can’t thank the fire brigade enough for the care they showed.

“They were here all night and they’ve been back since because it was still smouldering.

“They were running water backwards and forwards, saving our belongings while I just stood stunned, I didn’t know what to do.

“They were fantastic.”

Mrs Harvey described watching Weymouth firefighter Nick Rodway hold back the flames in the attic while his colleagues saved their possessions.

She said: “He was so brave, he had to kick his way out through the ceiling to get back down quickly.

“They got a lot of personal stuff out like photos you can’t replace and things like that.

“If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t even have any clothes.

“There were still some very precious items that we lost but we’re alive and hugely grateful.”

The Harveys estimate that £40,000-worth of their possessions were destroyed, including furniture, an antique collection and personal items such as their wedding photographs.

Their golden retriever dog Treacle, cat Harry and granddaughter’s fish called Bob all escaped unscathed.

Mrs Harvey said: “This is our forever home where our grandchildren come on their holidays, it belongs to the Ilchester Estates but we’ve rented it for five years. It’s just devastating. Hopefully the estate is going to rebuild it and we’ll be back.”

Mrs Harvey praised the ‘marvellous’ Ilchester Estates staff for finding them new accommodation and their good friends Mandy and Graham Quincey of Long Bredy who took them in.

She added: “I would like to send out a warning to other people - we were the most careful of couples, we had our chimney swept regularly and did everything right.

“If it can happen to us it can happen to anybody.”

Weymouth White Watch crew manager Martin Ryan said: “The thatch fire was believed to have been caused by a chimney fire.

“There is now a form of thatch called Dorset Thatch that can help if you’re unfortunate enough to have a fire.

“Our message is: ‘If your house is involved in a fire, get out and stay out and call the fire brigade, if you have valuables ask the firefighters when they arrive.

“In this case we luckily did manage to salvage a lot of possessions.”

Tips to make your chimney safe

• Keep chimneys and flues clean and well maintained - ensure your chimney is swept regularly.

• Make sure embers are under control and put out properly when you go to bed.

• Be careful when using open fires to keep warm. Make sure you always use a fireguard to protect against flying sparks from hot embers.

• Fit a smoke alarm on every level of your home and test it weekly.