Residents and staff all safe and well following fire at Cheddar care home

The operators of a care home in Cheddar have confirmed that all residents and staff are safe and well following a fire at lunchtime today (April 30).

Just after 12.15pm, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Control received calls reporting a fire within the Greenhill House care home in Tweentown, Cheddar, and quickly mobilised fire engines from Cheddar, Wells, and Burnham-on-Sea as well as an aerial appliance from Bridgwater.

On arrival crews confirmed heavy smoke logging on the first floor of the premises and got to work to investigate further using two breathing apparatus, one hose reel jet, a safety jet and a thermal imaging camera. An off-road vehicle from Cheddar was also sent for additional personnel.

Upon further inspection, crews found a fire within a tumble dryer and extinguished using four breathing apparatus, two carbon dioxide extinguishers, one hose reel jet and a thermal imaging camera to check for hot spots.

Somerset Care run the home, and a spokesperson said: "We are able to confirm that a minor, contained incident was attended to by the fire brigade early this afternoon at Greenhill House in Cheddar.

"We would like to reassure everyone that all of our residents and staff are safe and well, and we express our thanks to the services who attended the scene. A full investigation into the causes of the incident will now be carried out."