A working smoke alarm and a closed kitchen door meant a house fire in Highworth yesterday morning (21 January) was contained to the one room.
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to the terraced bungalow in Home Farm at 11.51am after reports that the smoke alarms were sounding. A crew from Stratton arrived to find a fire in the kitchen, and rescued the family dog from the premises.
A second crew from Swindon was also mobilised, and two breathing apparatus wearers used one hose reel jet to extinguish the fire, which started accidentally.
Station Manager Greg Izon said: “Although extensive damage was caused to the kitchen, the rest of the property was unaffected by the fire as the door was closed. In addition, the activation of the smoke detector meant the alarm was raised quickly, which also helped to limit the damage.”
He added: “We believe the fire to have started with a deep fat fryer that had been switched on accidentally. We would always urge people to ensure that appliances are switched off at the power socket when not in use, to fit smoke alarms and test them regularly, and to keep internal doors closed to prevent the spread of fire and smoke should the worst happen.”
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service provides free Safe and Well visits, where a member of staff will come to your home and provide you with bespoke home safety advice, covering areas such as the use of candles, cooking, electric blankets, overloading sockets, chimneys, low energy light bulbs and much more. They even fit or replace smoke alarms, if appropriate.
To see if you qualify for a Safe & Well visit, call 0800 038 2323 or visit www.dwfire.org.uk/safety for more information and advice.
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