Fire service issues warning after fire tears through child's bedroom in Attleborough
A rechargeable electric drill had been left to charge over night on a bed, which overheated and caught alight
Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service are issuing a warning following a house fire in Attleborough.
On Friday 21st September, a family living in a property on Saxton Heath Close were woken up at around 4am to the sound of their smoke alarm, which had been triggered by smoke coming from a child's bedroom.
A rechargeable electric drill had been left to charge over night on a bed, which overheated and caught alight, ripping through the bed, and damaging the bedroom.
No one was in the room at the time and no one was injured.
The fire service say that's because the family had preventative measures in place for if they found themselves in this situation, like shutting doors at night and having a working smoke alarm.
"The impact is going to last a while"
Terry Pinto is the services prevention lead and said:
"Everybody was asleep, but fortunately they had bedroom doors closed which meant that smoke and fire was suppressed for a long time in one room. Which allowed small amounts of smoke to leave and set off the fire alarm so the family were woken up really quickly, and were able to escape to safety,"
"You've got a family that can no longer live in their home while insurance companies deal with the aftermath and clear up and make the home safe and habitable again.
"The impact is going to last a while, they're in a position where they don't want their child going upstairs in their home because they don't want them to go through that trauma of seeing their bedroom and all of their belongings no longer there or damaged.
When charging an electrical, the advice is to do it in a safe place. Charge them in a place that is less likely to contain heat and start a fire like a hard surface.
Terry went on to say:
"We often see the causes of this type of fire being somebody using the incorrect battery charger, which sends the lithium ion battery into something we call, 'thermal runaway'.
"So basically it overcharges the battery and it gets to the point where it breaks down and catches fire. They can reach that point really quickly and they can be really unpredictable".