Firefighters highlight the importance of escape plans after cottage fire

Firefighters are highlighting the importance of having an escape plan in case of a fire after a cottage fire last night. 

Crews were called to Crow Hall Lane, Bradfield at 9:47pm after the resident heard his smoke alarms going off. 

He opened his bedroom door and was confronted by smoke coming from downstairs. He acted quickly to shut a bedroom door, put a towel along the bottom and climb out of an upstairs window onto the flat roof of the property to safety. 

On arrival, crews reported there was a fire in the living room and downstairs was heavily smoke logged.

On-call firefighters from Dovercourt were first to arrive and worked hard to contain the fire to the living room and prevent it spreading to the rest of the house. Crews extinguished the fire and believe it was caused accidentally. 

Crew Manager Norman Gooch from Dovercourt Fire Station said: “This incident highlights why it’s so important to have an escape plan and to make sure everyone at home knows what to do in the event of a fire. 

“The man was able to escape unharmed and by shutting the upstairs doors, he also prevented a lot of smoke damage upstairs. Once you're out of the house, stay out and call us as quickly as you can.

“This incident also highlights why it’s so important to have working smoke alarms too. The smoke alarms going off gave the man an early warning to the fire which gave him time to escape and call us. If you or someone you know doesn’t have working smoke alarms, we can fit them for free. Find out more here.”