Firefighters have been praised for their skill in tackling a house fire at Shipdham.Nineteen firefighters attended the blaze in Larwood Way which broke out just before 6pm on Saturday in a shed but quickly spread to the roof of the three-bedroom property.

Firefighters have been praised for their skill in tackling a house fire at Shipdham.

Nineteen firefighters attended the blaze in Larwood Way which broke out just before 6pm on Saturday in a shed but quickly spread to the roof of the three-bedroom property.

It took them about 30 minutes to put out the fire but crews stayed until nearly 11pm to deal with hotspots and cover the roof with plastic sheeting to protect the upstairs rooms from the elements.

Watch manager Mark Richardson said: 'The firefighters went into the roof space and were working at temperatures of between 600 and 800 degrees Celsius.

'They worked really hard and managed to save 50pc of the roof which is unusual and a credit to their hard work.

'The interior of the house was saved because we managed to contain the fire in the roof space. We salvaged as many personal items as we could. There is very little damage inside the property apart from water damage and a little smoke damage.'

The family living at the house were too distressed to talk.

Mr Richardson said they had been at the property when the fire started and that the family, along with their dog and two cats, were all safely out of the building when the fire crews arrived.

Two crews from Dereham and one crew from Hingham attended the scene.

Mr Richardson said there was an ongoing investigation into the cause of the fire.