Firefighters have reiterated their warning about sunlight blazes after a concave make-up mirror focused the sun’s rays and caused a sofa to catch fire in a Brook Green flat on Saturday evening
The fire was discovered when neighbours smelt burning and then noticed smoke coming from the ground floor flat on Bolingbroke Road is West London
The fire was put out by crews and the damage was confined to the sofa which was alight when firefighters arrived.
Head of London Fire Brigade's Fire Investigation Team Charlie Pugsley said: “These sort of incidents are not as rare as you would think. I’ve seen everything from sparkly door knobs to crystal balls starting fires and in the last five years we've seen over 100 fires caused by the sun's rays.
"Our advice is to make sure that you keep mirrors, crystals, glass ornaments and other reflective items out of direct sunlight at all times.”
• Keep mirrors and crystal or glass objects away from sunny sills and flammable materials.
• Fit at least one smoke alarm per floor and test them every week to make sure they work and the batteries are not flat.
• If you have a fire, close the door on the blaze, get out stay out and call the Brigade
The Brigade was called at 2107 and the incident was over by 2117. Two fire engines and around ten firefighters from Hammersmith fire station attended the incident.