Residents lucky to be alive after house fire near Cornwall
Fire crews from Cornwall attended the blaze on early Tuesday morning.
Last updated 17th Feb 2021
Residents of a property located just across the Cornish border are lucky to be alive after a fire tore through their house which caused serious fire damage.
Fire crews from Tavistock and Cornwall were alerted at 6.40am on Tuesday morning to the property in Chilsworthy.
It is thought the fire started from a car which spread to a nearby oil tank containing 900 litres of fuel. Electric cables above the car were also caught up in the blaze.
Oil started to spill down the driveway which set fire to the house, garden and garage.
The residents of the property managed to escape through the back of the house after they were alerted by a neighbour.
Firefighters used a hose reel and breathing apparatus to extinguish the fires and checked the property with a thermal imaging camera.
Crews at the Cornish fire station said it is the second incident they have attended in the last 18 months involving an oil tank catching fire which has caused serious damage to a property.
"Have you considered where your oil tank is (if you have one) and what would happen if it caught fire?
"This yesterday morning at 0640 both Tavistock's appliances and Bere Alston were called to a property fire in Chilsworthy along with a crew from Cornwall.
"A fire believed to have started in a car spread to an adjacent plastic oil tank.
"As the tank caught fire, the 900 litres of fuel ran down the drive and set fire to the owners garden, house and garage.
"Electric cables above the car were also involved.
"The residents of the property were alerted by a neighbour and escaped through the back of the house.
"Crews used a hose reel and breathing apparatus to extinguish the fires and checked the property with a thermal imaging camera.
"This is the second incident involving an oil tank catching fire in the last 18 months where it has caused serious damage to the property.
"On Saturday evening both our appliances as well as Bere Alston and Yelverton were all out on chimney fires.
"Tavistock’s first appliance went to support Bere Alston whilst Our second appliance went to Gulworthy
"The majority of chimney fires can be avoided by simply getting them swept by a qualified chimney sweep on a regular basis and burning seasoned wood."
Spokesperson, Tavistock Fire Station