Fire chiefs have called for an urgent review of Building Regulations in the light of the recent fire at a large timber frame construction site in Hampshire.

The Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) says it is increasingly concerned that a fire involving a timber frame site may result in deaths.

The fire destroyed a four-storey timber frame block

The fire on 10 September in Basingstoke destroyed a four-storey complex under construction and, according to CFOA vice president Peter Holland, threatened neighbouring properties. “But for the tenacity and heroic efforts of fire crews responding from Hampshire, Surrey and Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Services, the consequences of this fire would have been much worse,” he said.

CFOA says large timber frame buildings under construction “pose a significant risk to firefighters, construction workers and members of the public”. The association has called for research – which it says has been commissioned by the Communities and Local Government department into firefighting at timber frame buildings and also fire spread within and beyond such buildings – to be accelerated.

The association is also urging managers of building sites to ensure that their security arrangements are robust to reduce the risk of arson attacks.

Last month the government published fire statistics which suggested that fire spread was greater in timber frame buildings compared to 'conventional' construction methods.