Major West Sussex village house blaze: Fire service reveals cause of incident and issues warning

Several fire engines attended the scene of the blaze at a bungalow in a residential street in Rustington on Saturday morning (August 31).

Most of the property was destroyed as a result of the fire and suffered severe smoke damage.

A spokesperson for West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service said: “On Saturday, August 31 at 11.50am we were called to a house fire in Barnsite Gardens, Rustington.

“Joint Fire Control mobilised four fire engines from Worthing, Littlehampton, and East Preston to the scene.

“Upon arrival crews found a fire in the ground floor bedroom of a bungalow. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the fire using two high pressure hose reels.

“An investigation at the scene found that the fire was of accidental origin caused by smoking materials.

“We would like to remind everyone of the importance of having working smoke alarms in their homes and an escape plan in place.

“The last crew left the scene at 9.11pm.”