THE leader of Wokingham’s Liberal Democrats was one of the first people on the scene of the house fire that saw Reading Road closed to traffic yesterday afternoon.
Cllr Lindsay Ferris was delivering leaflets for the Lib Dem Emmbrook candidate Imogen Shepherd DuBey to the home, which is in the ward.
He told The Wokingham Paper: “A man came running up to me and said, ‘Look at the roof’.
“We went round to the side of the house and looked up. It looked like a chimney fire or in the loft area.
“There was a lot of thick smoke.
“We were concerned there was someone in the house. When the fire crews arrived, they put on their breathing apparatus and went in, but no one was in the home.”
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Last night, at least three police cars were at the home.
The road was closed to traffic while a number of fire engines attended to the blaze.
Traffic was sent down Old Forest Road and Emmbrook Road as a diversion.
At the time, Thames Valley Police said in a tweet: “Our priority is to the safe management of the scene and emergency services in attendance.”