Tumble dryer fire

Firefighters were called to a house fire in Howbridge Road, Witham after the resident heard her smoke alarms going off.

On arrival, crews reported that a bungalow was heavily smoke logged.

Crews extinguished the fire by 8:35pm.

The bungalow was destroyed leaving a family homeless.

A woman was left in the care of the Ambulance Service due to smoke inhalation.

The fire was caused by an electrical fault in a tumble dryer.

Do you have working smoke alarms in your home?

Residents in this incident had working smoke alarms which alerted them to the fire. 

Smoke alarms save lives. They can alert your family as well as your neighbours and passers-by to a fire in your home if you're not home.

We recommend you have at least one working smoke alarm on every level of your home and that you test them at least once a month.

If you or someone you know doesn’t have working smoke alarms, please get in touch. Visit essex-fire.gov.uk/book or call 0300 303 0088.

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Firefighters attending this incident from Witham, Coggeshall and Tollesbury are on-call firefighters, who all 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 and be paid to protect your community.

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