Friday 28 November
19.42 Wootton Road, St Anne's, Bristol
A man had a lucky escape from his home after cigarettes
discarded in a makeshift ashtray caused a fire to break out in
his living room.
Fire crews were alerted after smoke
detectors activated in the first floor flat, causing a member
of the public to raise the alarm.
On arrival firefighters were met by the occupant of the
property, a male in his 60s. It is thought the man had been using
the plastic lid of an aerosol as ashtray in his living room, before
going to bed. A cigarette melted the plastic lid, burning through
to the arm of the sofa it had been placed on. As a result the sofa
began to burn, causing smoke to fill the room and activate the
alarms.
Fortunately the man had closed the door to the living room
behind him when he went to bed, which meant smoke was
contained to the one room. He was alerted to the fire and woke
up when the smoke alarms began activating.
The Officer-in-Charge of the incident said after the fire that
the man had been extremely lucky to escape unhurt, and was saved
only by a combination of a working smoke alarm and the fact he
had closed his living room door when he went to bed.
Smokers are urged to ensure they always use a suitable,
heat resistant ashtray, and that cigarettes are properly
extinguished before being left unattended.
More
fire safety advice for smokers can be found on the Your Safety
area of this website.