Flat fire: man rescued

Crews rescued a man following a fire in a ground floor flat in Harlow.

Firefighters were called to Rundells today at 12.42pm. A small fire had caused the ground floor flat to fill with smoke and the heat had caused a number of windows to break.

It is believed the fire was caused by discarded smoking materials which ignited.

Crew Manager Daniel Finch said: "The Breathing Apparatus team did a fantastic job in locating the casualty and carrying him out of the property - it undoubtedly saved his life.

"The incident shows the importance of following our safety advice if you are a smoker: make sure your cigarettes are fully extinguished and dispose of them carefully."

The man was left in the care of the Ambulance Service.

Crews fully exintguished the fire by 1.28pm and ventilated the property.

If you're a smoker, or a smoker lives in your house, make sure you follow our advice to stay safe at home:

• Make sure your all cigarettes are fully extinguished.
• Take extra care when you’re tired, taking any sort of drugs or have been drinking alcohol because it’s very easy to fall asleep while your cigarette is still burning.
• Never smoke in bed.
• Never leave lit cigarettes unattended.
• Use a proper, heavy ashtray that can’t tip over easily and is made of a material that won’t burn. 
• Tap your ash into an ashtray, never a wastebasket containing other rubbish.

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Some of the firefighters who attended this incident are on-call firefighters, who 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