A shed fire, believed to have been started by a garden power tool battery, spread to six properties at Howley, Warrington, early on Sunday morning.
At 07:21, crews from Stockton Heath, Warrington, Penketh and the aerial ladder platform from Lymm attended reports at properties between Farell Street and Gibson Street, Holwey.
Firefighters had been initially called to reports of a fire involving a shed, which spread to the main property through UPVC patio windows and then into neighbouring dwellings through the connecting roof space.
Wearing breathing apparatus, crews tackled the fire using hose reel water jets, a main jet and the jet from the aerial ladder platform.
They remained at the scene damping down and supporting residents for around six hours. In total, six properties were affected.
Following an initial fire investigation, it is believed that the probable cause of the fire was garden power tool lithium-ion batteries going into thermal runaway.
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