A woman in Basildon sustained burns while escaping a house fire with her pets, prompting a swift response from local firefighters.
Basildon: Firefighters rushed to a house fire in Acorn Place, Langdon Hills, early this morning. They got the call around 6:14 AM, and two crews from Basildon were on the scene.
A woman living there suffered burns on her arms while trying to escape with her two cats. She managed to call the firefighters, who had the fire under control by 7:14 AM. The blaze started in an airing cupboard.
Thankfully, the cause was deemed accidental. Fire crews provided first aid to the woman before handing her over to the ambulance service.
Watch manager Rob Fossett shared that the woman was woken up by a loud bang and found a significant fire on the first floor. She quickly grabbed her cats and called 999 for help.
The firefighters extinguished the flames and cleared out the smoke, but the whole property suffered from smoke damage.
This incident really shows how crucial it is to have working smoke alarms in your home. There was one downstairs, but the one upstairs didn’t go off, so she didn’t get an early warning.
Rob emphasized the need to test smoke alarms regularly, at least once a month. Plus, crews will be back in the area next Friday, January 10, to offer fire safety tips and check smoke alarms.
