999 Control staff gave life saving survival advice to a family who found themselves trapped when a fire started outside their front door last night. The fire damaged a small part of the porch and there was smoke throughout the flat on Bentons Lane, West Norwood.
Four women and two children listened to a control operators’ advice over the phone and went into the bedroom and closed the door. They also told them to put bedding down by the bedroom door and to open the window.
Crew Manager Steve Hazell at West Norwood Fire Station said:
“There was a lot of smoke inside the flat but thanks to the vital life saving advice given by our control staff no one was seriously injured. There was no smoke alarm inside the property and another three flats in the block also didn’t have smoke alarms. I would urge everyone to make sure that they have a working smoke alarm and to test it regularly.”
The Brigade was called at 2050 and the fire was under control by 2104. Crews from West Norwood and Norbury fire stations attended the incident. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
