Five dogs rescued from house fire
Firefighters rescued five dogs from a house fire in Chelmsford last night.
Crews were called to a property in Upper Bridge Road at 9.51pm following calls from a neighbour that they could hear the dogs barking but they then went quiet. They then heard the smoke alarm and dialled 999. The two people who lived there were not at home at the time.
On arrival, firefighters found light smoke in the kitchen but went through into the bedroom and were met with a large amount of smoke. One large dog ran past to escape. The fire was well developed in the bedroom so crews used specialist ventilation equipment as well as searching for the other dogs who were all found and safe.
There was extensive damage to the bedroom and the rest of the property suffered smoke damage.
The cause of the fire is thought to have been due to an issue with a four way extension lead used in the bedroom.
Watch Manager Gavin Ellis said: “We would urge people to be really careful with extension leads with four way adapters. Don’t ever cover them up. This incident also highlights the importance of having smoke alarms in your property. The one here alerted the neighbours and we were able to save the dogs. It could have been a very different outcome.”
Please follow our electrical safety advice:
Cables and leads
- Make sure the outer covering of all power leads is in good condition. Replace frayed or damaged cables or leads.
- Don’t badly position them. They shouldn’t be anywhere that they could be tripped over, or near water, cookers or other sources of heat.
- Never run them under rugs or carpets where they can wear through without anyone noticing. Position them elsewhere.
More advice is available here.
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.
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.