THREE people were injured in a house fire that sparked a major emergency response, with fire crews from across Dorset attending.

Multiple teams of firefighters from around the county were called to the blaze at Acreman Street, Cerne Abbas, at around 7.05am yesterday morning.

Casualties were treated for injuries, with three people taken to hospital by ambulance. It was reported that two of them had suffered with smoke inhalation and burns to hands.

The first crews on the scene discovered a fire in a log shed at the side of the house which had spread to the property and called for assistance from more fire engines.

A spokesman for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) said: "Initially it came through as a small fire in the open but as crews were mobilised, further information came through to say it was a property fire with persons reported.

"Crews from Dorchester, Sherborne and Yeovil were the first to attend and on arrival found the property was involved in fire which had initially started in a log shed on the side of the house. One person had been rescued from the building by the time the crews turned up.

"At the height of the incident we had a total of eight pumping appliances in attendance from Dorchester, Sherborne, Weymouth, Beaminster, Hamworthy’s Command Support Unit and supporting resources from Yeovil including their water carrier and Martock. Six breathing apparatus wearers used and three hose reel jets and three main lines to extinguish the fire.

"Two people have reported to suffer with smoke inhalation and burns to hands so were treated by the ambulance service once on scene.

DWFRS said the upstairs of the property had been severely affected by smoke with approximately 30 per cent of the roof destroyed. The outhouse has been completely destroyed in the blaze, which fire bosses have confirmed was started accidentally. 

A spokesperson for South Western Ambulance Service confirmed three people were taken to Dorset County Hospital.

One close neighbour said: "From what I've seen the response has been brilliant from the fire service - I understand that they have come from all over the place, far and wide."

Another neighbour said he saw the flames from the house yesterday morning just before emergency services arrived.

The Incident Commander, watch manager O'Bryan, took over after the initial attendance.

At the scene yesterday, he said: "We're at the stage where we're exposing all the beams and timbers and hotspots within the house and pulling down any ceilings we need to to get to any hot spots and cool them down. Once we've established that we've got all the hot spots then we'll downscale and we'll leave the scene and reinspect it later.

"The fire started externally in the wood storage area I believe and then spread to the house.

"The initial attendance was from crews in Dorchester, Yeovil and Sherborne, but the officer in charge quickly asked for more engines, and with that extra help they managed to get on top of it as best they could.

"As far as damage limitation is concerned, we've done pretty well to be fair."