Chimney fire

Firefighters were called to a chimney fire in Ashdon last night when the residents heard their smoke alarms going off.

On arrival, crews reported that there was a fire within a chimney of a house.

Firefighters used chimney rods to extinguish the fire by 6:43pm.

Most chimney fires are preventable. Regular inspection and cleaning of chimney flues will help prevent fires within chimneys. Keep your family and home safe by following our chimney safety advice:

• Have your chimney swept at least once a year, or more frequently if you burn wood
• Do not stack fires too high and remember to let them burn down well before you go to bed
• Use a fire or spark guard
• Do not place objects on or over the mantle-piece which may cause you to stand too close to the fire to reach or use them
• Inspect your chimney regularly - particularly in the roof space - to ensure that it is sound and that sparks or fumes cannot escape through cracks or broken bricks
• Avoid burning resinous woods as soot builds up quickly. Suitable seasoned timber must be used in all solid fuel stoves
• Buy only suitable fuels. Using the wrong type of fuel on a liner will reduce the life of the liner considerably due to increased corrosion

Do you have working smoke alarms in your home?

The residents in this incident had working smoke alarms in their home that were going off when firefighters arrived.

Smoke alarms save lives. They can alert your family as well as your neighbours and passers-by to a fire in your home if you're not in.

We recommend you have at least one working smoke alarm on every level of your home and that you test them at least once a month.

If you or someone you know doesn’t have working smoke alarms at home, please get in touch. Visit essex-fire.gov.uk/book or call 0300 303 0088.

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Saffron Walden's firefighters are on-call firefighters, who live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station.

If you live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station, you could be an on-call firefighter too.

Find out more about the role at essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call