11:40am Friday 5th October 2007
By Nigel Kerton
A MAN was arrested following a fire in Milton Lilbourne destroyed a wooden bugalow leaving a family of four homeless.
Police and fire brigade investigators called in a special fire sniffer dog to help them find out how the conflagration started early on Thursday morning.
The dog from the Avon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is trained to locate areas where accelerants might have been used to start a fire.
Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service received a 999 call at about 5.50am.
Four appliances from Pewsey, Marlborough and Devizes supported by a water bowser attended.
Despite the effrots of more than 20 fire fighters led by Station officer Mervyn Hampshire from Pewsey they were unable to prevent the building being virtually destroyed.
The bungalow at The Cedars was a wooden framed building and the fire was advanced when the first fire fighters arrived.
One fire fighter said: "The whole building was engulfed in flames."
The family, Graham and Jenny Osbourne and their sons Laurie and Russell, had escaped from the building in their nightclothes.
A fireman said: "All they managed to save was the clothes they were wearing when they escaped."
Mr Osbourne is a refrigeration engineere and Mrs Osbourne had a small hairdressing salon at the bakc of their home.
Mrs Osbourne formerly ran a salon in the Market Place in Pewsey.
Police confirmed that a man was arrested following the fire and was helping with their investigation into how it started.
It is believed Mr and Mrs Osbourne were provided with emergency accommodation in Devizes.
The fire service's Red Cross Victim Support team attended the incident and helped look after the family.
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