Wednesday 11 November
08.07 Malvern Road, Weston-super-Mare
A faulty electrical socket was found to be the cause of a fire
that devastated a kitchen in Weston-super-Mare.
Two fire engines from the town's fire station were called to the
first floor flat when the blaze broke out. Five people in the
property at the time, two adults and three young children, were
alerted to the fire when they heard cracking and popping. They
immediately left the home and called the fire and rescue
service.
Three firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the flat
and used a hose reel to extinguish the flames. The fire caused
severe damage to the entire kitchen and filled the flat with smoke.
A positive pressure ventilation fan was then put into use to clear
smoke from the building.
A subsequent investigation identified the cause of the fire to
be an electrical socket in the kitchen.
Although the flat was fitted with smoke detectors, the
occupants of the flat had a lucky escape as the batteries had been
removed. Working smoke alarms provide vital early warning of a fire
in the home.
Fortunately this incident occurred during the day, but had
the blaze broken out at night, with no working smoke
alarm in the flat the children and adults would have had
no idea their home was on fire.
A recent national survey found that almost half of people
believe they will be able to survive for more than two minutes in a
smoke-filled room. However, the reality is that just two to three
breaths of toxic smoke can render you unconscious.
Read more about our toxic smoke campaign.
Smoke detectors should be checked every week. And, if you
don’t have a smoke detector, buy and install one on every storey of
your home. Read our leaflet on smoke detectors (PDF 78kb,
opens in a new window)