Family Escape House Fire With 'Seconds To Spare'

6 August 2013, 12:05 | Updated: 6 August 2013, 12:08

A family have 'escaped with seconds to spare' from a house fire in Weymouth, which melted their front door.

At 7.15am on Tuesday morning (6 August), two crews from Weymouth and one from Dorchester were called to Nuthatch Close, Littlemoor. Crews used one hose reel jet, one main line and two sets of breathing apparatus to extinguish a fire in the lounge of the property. Two adults and children escaped unhurt.

Station Manager Stuart Jeneson, who attended this incident said:

"The family inside this property escaped with seconds to spare this morning.

"There were no working smoke alarms to give them an early warning to this fire. By the time they woke up and realised what was happening the fire had developed significantly.

"The family had to walk past the fire to escape and the fire was so hot that the front door of the house has melted."

He added:

"I am very keen to remind people that having a working smoke alarm in your house, that you test once a week, could save your life. Getting into a good bedtime routine and closing internal doors around the house will also give you extra time to escape, if a fire occurs.

It's also really important to have an escape plan for the property and make sure everyone knows how they would escape if a fire occurred."

The lounge of the property was severely damaged by fire and the rest of the property by smoke. The cause of this fire is believed to be an electrical fault. Dorset Fire and Rescue Service offer free home safety checks, where a member of staff will visit your home to discuss escape plans, electrics, cooking and much more. If appropriate they will also fit free smoke detection.

(Picture from Dorset Fire and Rescue Service)