06 July 2012
Fire fighters are asking people to take care when leaving their cooker hobs unattended, following a fire in Bath Street this morning.
The fire started in a top floor flat while a routine fire safety inspection was underway on the ground floor of the same building. The Fire Safety Officer and owner responded to an alarm and discovered a small fire in the kitchenette of an empty flat.
They managed to partially extinguish the fire using a dry powder extinguisher, then withdrew for their own safety. Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus quickly extinguished the fire and searched the building to ensure no-one else had been affected. A positive pressure fan was used to remove smoke from the building.
The owner of the building and the Fire Safety Officer were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation but needed no further medical assistance. The fire started when the hob was accidentally turned on, igniting a tea towel left on the hob, which then spread to a microwave above.
The Fire and Rescue Service says it was fortunate that the building was fitted with an alarm system which allowed the fire to be quickly contained.
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