Firefighters in Portsmouth have today issued advice after the increase if fires in recent weeks caused due to sunlight 

Sunlight reflecting through a pane of glass onto a shed in a Portsmouth back garden caused a blaze which spread across several properties on Monday evening.

A number of fences and gardens were affected in the fire that broke out in Middlesex Road at 6.11pm.

Crew Manager Simon Haswell at Southsea Fire Station said:

‘The sun was coming across sideways onto the gardens, and there was a huge glass panel over a small growing area, which reflected onto one of the sheds outside.

‘The fire started from a garden shed and spread to trees, shrubbery, fences, and other sheds.

‘There was fairly significant damage caused to the three sheds that were destroyed.’

Crews from Southsea and Cosham used hose reels and jets before ventilation fans cleared the smoke, returning to station following the stop message at 7.57pm.

They are now reminding people to ensure that glass ornaments and mirrors aren’t left near windows where they could catch and reflect sunlight.

Station Manager Tor Strowger said:

“Although these type of incidents are fairly unique, over the past few weeks we have seen a number of fires caused by sunlight reflecting through glass.

“Please take some time to have a look around your homes and gardens and ensure that any mirrors and glassware are kept out of direct sunlight or where the sun can reflect from them on to other items.”