A woman had a lucky escape from a fire in her home this morning after leaving a stewing pan on the hob overnight. It was believed that she was cooking bones for a stock. The house on Pond Square in Highbury had three smoke alarms but none of them alerted her to the fire as they had either been disabled or were still in their packaging.
Watch Manager Sean Madeley said:
“The woman woke up to find her house full of smoke. She called the Brigade and our control staff gave her vital life saving information. This also meant we knew exactly where she was when we entered the building.
“There were three smoke alarms in the house but none of them worked. There was a hard wired alarm which had been disconnected, a smoke alarm with no battery and another still in its packaging. It is great to have so many alarms but they are no use to you if they don’t work. Make sure you test them regularly and if you’ve bought a smoke alarm please install it as soon as possible.
“Over 60 per cent of all house fires start in the kitchen so, I urge people to never leave cooking unattended.”
Crews rescued the woman from a top floor bedroom. She was suffering from smoke inhalation and was treated at the scene by London Ambulance Service crews. The fire caused a small amount of damage to the kitchen and there was smoke damage throughout the building.
The Brigade was called at 0648 and the fire was under control by 0708. Ten firefighters from Kentish Town fire station were at the scene.
