Saturday 24 October
00.16 Elmtree Drive, Withywood
A 71-year old
woman had to be helped to safety after a small fire broke out in
the kitchen of a first floor flat in Withywood.
The woman had been
unable to escape the property as she had a broken ankle in a cast.
With smoke building up in the flat, two firefighters wearing
breathing apparatus (BA) entered the building and carried her to
safety.
The woman’s
daughter, who was also in the property at the time of the fire, was
able to leave the flat and call 999.
The small fire,
which was contained to the kitchen, was extinguished by
firefighters using two high pressure hose reels.
It appears the
fire started after food cooking under the grill caught light – with
no working smoke detector in the property, the occupants had a
lucky escape as they were asleep at the time of the fire.
Fortunately the 71-year old woman woke up before the fire had
chance to spread.
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.
Working smoke
detectors will pick up traces of smoke before you, giving you and
your loved ones precious time to escape to safety. If you have a
smoke detector in your home, check it 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)
Kitchen fires
account for over 50 per cent of house fires attended each year by
AF&RS. Visit
our Your Safety pages for more information on preventing kitchen
fires.