PHOTO: Disposable barbecue causes fire that leaves two families homeless

Firefighters are giving safety advice after a disposable barbecue cooling off on decking caused a fire that left two families homeless in Little Walden.

Crews were called to a fire in Petlands, Little Walden last night and reported that a semi detached house was on fire and was spreading to the property next door.

Firefighters requested the help of Newport Fire Station and crews worked together to extinguish the fire by 12:18am.

The two properties were badly damaged and left both families homeless.

Watch Manager Paul Curtis from Saffron Walden Fire Station said: “We’d like to praise the quick thinking of the neighbours who acted quickly to rescue two people from inside one of the houses and tried to make a start on extingsuishing the fire.

“With the weather being so hot and dry, this fire spread very quickly across the decking, through screening and to the houses.

“During this hot weather, we’d advise that you’re extra cautious when using disposable BBQs, they stay hot for a lot longer than people think and all it will take to start a fire in this hot and dry weather is an ember and a slight breeze. Make sure they are completely cooled before you leave them unattended, you can use water to help cool them faster.”

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Newport and Saffron Walden’s firefighters are on-call firefighters - they all live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station and are paid to protect their community. 

Newport Fire Station is recruiting on-call firefighters. Do you live or work within 5 minutes of Newport Fire Station? You could be an on-call firefighter. 

Find out more about the role and how to apply at join.essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call