2:01pm Monday 28th December 2009
THREE pet dogs have been killed in a fire that ripped through a Hampshire home today.
More than 60 fire fighters have spent several hours tackling the blaze, which started in a downstairs room but has spread through the first floor and into the open roof space.
No-one was in the house, near Fordingbridge in the New Forest, when the fire started at around 10.30am.
The owners are believed to be abroad, and the property was being looked after by a house sitter.
Two labrador dogs belonging to the homeowners and a third which belonged to the house sitter are thought to have suffocated as thick smoke spread throughout the building.
A fourth dog inside the two-storey detached home at Brook Farm, Blissford Road, was rescued by passers-by and has been taken to a vet for observation.
Police closed off the road as fire crews from Fordingbridge, Ringwood, Burley, Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst, Beaulieu, Verwood and Ferndown all tackled the blaze, accompanied by specialist units from St Marys in Southampton and Eastleigh.
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