E-cigarettes cause flat fire

A flat has suffered smoke and fire damage after e-cigarettes caught fire.

Two crews from Saffron Walden were called to George Street after a man returned home following a night out and was faced with a heavily smoke logged flat. 

When Saffron Walden's on-call firefighters arrived they reported that the smoke was beginning to spread to shops underneath, and there was a large fire in the lounge. 

Crew Manager Gary Walker said:

"The resident was due to move out today, so had packed up most of his possessions into boxes which he'd stacked in the middle of the lounge. It was a huge shock when he returned home to a smoke-filled flat, but he did the right thing by immediately getting out, staying out and calling 999.

"One of the boxes contained multiple e-cigarettes, which we believe overheated and set fire to the rest of the contents. Because the boxes were stacked closely together the fire began to spread quickly.

"Our crews did a great job of quickly surrounding the fire to extinguish it as well as ventilating the flat and properties downstairs."

The flat has suffered both smoke and fire damage and some of the floorboards had to be removed for firefighters to reach all hot spots. 

Crew Manager Gary Walker added:

"This is a reminder to everyone that electrical items and batteries can overheat so it's important to store them correctly. Make sure you always buy electrical items and any batteries or chargers from a reputable retailer. Make sure to use batteries and chargers that the manufacturer recommends for the devices and do not overcharge them.”