Father and son escape fire raging in their home

From the The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, first published Thursday 5th Jan 2006.

A CHIPPENHAM father, his seven-year-old son and a friend are lucky to escaped with their lives after a smoke alarm failed to warn them of a fire raging at their home, because the battery had been removed.

Firefighters were called to the blaze at The Quadrangle, off Lowden, at about 6.30am on December 30.

The ground floor was left severely damaged by the fire, thought to have been caused by an electric heater.

The three were woken by the acrid smoke.

Sub Officer Steve Lodge, who was in charge of the incident, said the occupants had made their way out of the building by the time fire crews arrived but were lucky to be alive.

He said: "There was quite severe smoke logging. A smoke detector was fitted in the hallway, but there was no battery in it.

"Had there been one then they would have been alerted to the fire a lot quicker.

"What did save them was that the door to the room was slightly closed and that held a lot of the smoke and heat back.

"They were very lucky.

"If the door to the downstairs room where the fire started had not been almost fully closed, more smoke would have found its way upstairs even faster and there could have been a very different outcome.

"It is so vitally important not only to have a smoke detector fitted, but also to regularly check it is in good working order."

The were taken to the Royal United Hospital in Bath to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Liz Priscott, 37, who lives next door, had to have her property ventilated following the fire as it was filled with smoke.

She said she had thought about trying to tackle the fire herself, but decided against it once she had seen how fierce it was.

"I went round the back to see if I could tackle it, but there were double glazed windows, a lot of flames and heat," she said.

"If it had been a small enough fire, I would have done."

Miss Priscott said she originally thought the smell that woke her was caused by dust on her heaters, but she was told there was a fire next door.

"I woke up at 6.30am and, oddly enough, I woke up because of the smell," she said.

"As I was walking round checking, there was a knock at the door and the neighbour said there was an electrical fire and they had called the fire brigade. My house was full of smoke.

"The fire brigade had fans blowing throughout both houses to clear it."

Following the blaze, firefighters from Chippenham returned to the road to visit neighbouring properties to fit smoke alarms if needed and to go through safety precautions with residents. Sub Officer Lodge said anyone in Chippenham who is in need of a smoke alarm can have one fitted free by contacting Chippenham Fire Station on (01249) 651624.

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