Firefighters issue safety advice after wood burner fire

Firefighters issued safety advice on Saturday night after being called to a fire involving a wood burner in a house in Colchester.

Crews confirmed on arrival that a fire in a wood burner had grown out of control, with four people leaving the property for their own safety.

Firefighters managed to extinguish the fire by 9.33pm. Fortunately, the damage was contained to the wood burner and chimney area of the property. No-one was harmed.

Watch Manager Peter Donovan, Colchester Fire Station, said: "Our crews did a really professional job of extinguishing this fire quickly before it spread. However, these incidents are particularly common at this time of year when people are using chimneys and wood burners and often haven't had them serviced.

"We believe this incident was caused due to a faulty door seal in the wood burner, which allowed a flow of air in to accelerate the fire. This could have been avoided if the wood burner was serviced before use - so please, if you're planning on using your chimney or wood burner, don't take the risk - get them serviced first."

Chimney fire safety advice

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.