A garage fire that spread to a large house destroyed much of a family’s home in Great Bookham.

The blaze in Eastwick Drive could have caused even more damage, firefighters said, because the gas going into the large house was burning, until engineers isolated the supply.

The family-of-three who lived at the house were out as the fire took hold just before 6.30pm, but neighbours had seen smoke pouring from the large double garage and called emergency services, firefighters believe.

Firefighters from Epsom and Leatherhead fire stations initially tackled “one of the hottest house fires” they had ever been in yesterday evening (Monday, July 31).

They were later joined by colleagues from Banstead, Dorking and Reigate fire stations.

When crews first arrived they were unsure if anyone was left inside the burning house, an Epsom firefighter said.

Crew members scaled an aerial platform ladder to better reach the flames as they spread from the double garage up to the roof of the house. They used four hose reel jets to extinguish the fire.

In total, 16 firefighters donned breathing apparatus to protect themselves from harmful smoke as they entered the house to tackle the fire.

The task was made even more arduous, a crew member from Leatherhead fire station said, because there were “lots of appliances” in the garage that made the heat increase more than normal.

“We had to spend a lot of time quite low down because we couldn’t stand up in it because of the difference in heat,” he explained.

“It was one of the hottest house fires I have ever been in.”

The main gas supply going into the property was on fire, and firefighters had to wait for gas engineers to arrive to turn it off.

“It could’ve burned a lot longer,” a firefighter from Epsom fire station said.

“It was a very good stop.”

Forty per cent of the house was damaged by the fire and there was smoke-damage throughout the house, he added.

Crews worked throughout the night, cutting away the burned wood from the house, and ensuring it was not going to reignite.

A fire investigation is being carried out, a firefighter confirmed.