Safety advice issued following house fire

Firefighters have issued safety advice following a fire which damaged a house in South Woodham Ferrers today.

Crews were called to the property in Creekview Road at 2.24pm following concerns that something was smouldering in the guttering of the house and there was the smell of smoke.

They found a small fire which had damaged the guttering and the fascia. It is believed to have been caused by a discarded cigarette that wasn’t fully extinguished.

Watch Manager Darren Hockley said: “The fire had affected two metres of guttering and soffit so we had to strip back the roof, give it a wash down and use a thermal imaging camera to check for heat sources. We’d urge anybody who smokes to please be careful and dispose of cigarettes properly, making sure they are out.”

The fire was out by 3.09pm.

If you're a smoker or you have a smoker living 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. It’s very easy to fall asleep while your cigarette is still burning.
• Never smoke in bed - if you need to lie down, don’t light up. You could doze off and set your bed on fire.
• Never leave lit cigarettes unattended - they can easily overbalance as they burn down.
• Use a proper, heavy ashtray that can’t tip over easily and is made of a material that won’t burn. Make sure your cigarette is fully extinguished.
• Tap your ash into an ashtray, never a wastebasket containing other rubbish – and don’t let the ash or cigarette ends build up in the ashtray.
• Use child safe matches and cigarette lighters and keep them safely out of the reach of children
• Fit and maintain a smoke alarm - a working smoke alarm can buy you valuable time to get out, stay out and call 999