Overloaded socket causes bedroom fire

Firefighters are giving electrical safety advice after an overloaded plug socket caught a bedroom alight in Basildon.

Crews were called to a bedroom fire in Ghyllgrove, Basildon at 12:09pm.

On arrival, firefighters reported that the top floor of a three storey house was heavily smoke-logged.

Crews worked to extinguish the fire by 12:51pm.

The top floor of the house was heavily fire and smoke damaged.

Sadly, a dog died at the scene.

Watch Manager Marc Kyprianou from Basildon Fire Station said: “We believe the fire was caused by an overloaded plug socket. Plugging too many things into a socket can cause a fire if the socket overheats.

“To use sockets safely, stick to one adaptor per socket and avoid plugging adaptors into each other. Bar adaptors are generally better to use than block adaptors. Extension leads have a limit on how many amps they can take, make sure you’re not overloading them.”