Cigarette causes bedroom fire

Crews were called to a fire in John Kent Avenue, Colchester last night after a cigarette caused a fire in a bedroom.

Firefighters were called to a fire in a property in Colchester at 7:15pm, when a mother discovered a fire in the bedroom of her home.

On arrival, crews confirmed that the fire was in a bedroom to the rear of the property and worked quickly to extinguish it by 7:40pm before clearing the house of smoke. As a result of their hard work, the fire was successfully contained to the bedroom.

Watch Manager at Colchester, Paul Champ, said “We’re urging smokers to ensure their cigarettes are properly extinguished, especially if smoking indoors. A lit cigarette can cause fires which can spread quickly.

The crews did a great job to contain the fire and prevent additional damage to the property. Fortunately no people were injured, but incidents like these really highlight how important it is to have working smoke alarms in your home.”

Do you have working smoke alarms in your home?

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 home, or are unable to hear it.

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

These simple steps can help prevent a cigarette fire in the home: 

• Never smoke in bed. Take care when you’re tired – it’s very easy to fall asleep while your cigarette is still burning and set furniture alight 
• Never smoke when under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If your lit cigarette starts a fire you could be less able to escape
• Put it out, right out! Make sure your cigarette is fully extinguished 
• Never leave lit cigarettes, or other smoking materials unattended – they can easily overbalance as they burn down
• Use a proper, heavy ashtray that can’t tip over easily and is made of a material that won’t burn
• It's safer to smoke outside, but make sure cigarettes are put right out and disposed of properly
• Never smoke if you use healthcare equipment like medical oxygen or an air flow pressure relief mattress. If you use paraffin-based emollient creams, ask for non-flammable alternatives instead. If you or someone else you care for continues to smoke, then consider additional safety measures such as fire retardant bedding or nightwear
• A lot of people make the switch from smoking to vaping, but even vaping has fire safety risks - the risks around vaping tend to come from counterfeit or faulty products, and poor charging practices 
• Make an attempt to quit using NHS support if you need it.  If you do not want to quit, consider vaping
• Fit a smoke alarm and test it at least monthly. A working smoke alarm can buy you valuable time to get out, stay out and call 999

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Firefighters from Witham are on-call Firefighters, who all live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station and attend incidents.

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