House fire - smoke alarms wake residents

On-call firefighters from Wethersfield and Thaxted were called to a house fire in the early hours of this morning after the residents were woken up by their smoke alarms. 

On arrival, crews reported that smoke was coming up through the floorboards in one of the bedrooms and lifted the floorboards to locate the source of the fire. 

The cause of the fire was an electrical cable that had overheated and started to melt a heating pump. 

Watch Manager Darren Hockley from Wethersfield Fire Station said: “This incident really highlights the importance of having working smoke alarms. Without smoke alarms, the family might have been woken up by an established fire instead.

“Having working smoke alarms on every level of your home means that you get an early warning sign to a fire in your home. 

“If you or someone you know doesn’t have working smoke alarms at home, we can supply them for free through our home fire safety team. Find out more at www.essex-fire.gov.uk/book.”

Could you be an on-call firefighter in Wethersfield?

Wethersfield Fire Station is currently recruiting on-call firefighters. If you live or work within 5 minutes of Wethersfield Fire Station, you could be paid to protect your community as an on-call firefighter. 

Find out more at join.essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call