A FIRE tore through a Barnwood home on Wednesday as the owners sat in the garden.
Yesterday a man at the Barnwood Road house, who did not want to be named, said: "It has ruined the house."
Some 28 firefighters spent the night tackling the major blaze from around 8pm.
The house, opposite Budgens convenience store and Total petrol station, was 50 per cent destroyed.
Neighbour Vince Hawkins said: "The kids were just having a bath when we heard this loud crackling noise.
"When we looked outside there was thick black smoke billowing from the roof.
"Lots of people came out of their homes and stood on the other side of the road to watch what was happening.
"The kids wanted to see what was going on. They thought it was all very exciting because it's not often you see something like this down here."
Two fire engines initially attended the incident from Gloucester North and Gloucester South stations.
When they arrived, they requested the aerial ladder platform from Cheltenham East station to come and help them tackle the flames.
Minutes later, they had to request a further two fire engines which were sent from Cheltenham. Firefighters had to smash their way into the immediate neighbour's house as they feared the man was at home – but he was not in the house at the time.
A spokesman for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Investigations are still due to take place to find the cause of the fire, however at present fire crews do not believe this is arson related."
Traffic delays were felt throughout the area as police cordoned off the road.
Motorist Dave Bennett, from Longlevens, said: "It was bedlam. There were a lot of fire engines down there and the whole road was closed off."
A spokeswoman for South West Ambulance Service said they had paramedics on scene but they were not needed.
