A woman and a child were rescued from a serious house fire in Oswestry in the early hours of this morning (Thursday 16 December).
The Service received the call at 11.58pm and attending crews from Oswestry found the house well alight. A three-year-old girl was rescued from the window of the first floor of the property by firefighters. Crew members entered the building wearing breathing apparatus in order to evacuate the mother and extinguish the fire. They were both treated for smoke inhalation and were left in the care of the ambulance service.
Station Manager Chris White said:
“We believe the fire started in a first-floor bedroom causing significant fire and smoke damage to the first floor and further smoke and water damage to the remainder of the property.
“Thankfully the mother and daughter didn’t suffer any serious or life-threatening injuries as they were alerted to the fire early by their smoke alarms and were rescued very quickly.
“Unfortunately, the fire has destroyed a large portion of the house and the family will not be able to return. This couldn’t happen at worse time, just before Christmas, and we will continue to support them however we can.
“A fire investigation has been carried out and we believe the most likely cause is discarded smoking materials, due to the rapid development of the fire, however an electrical abnormality cannot be ruled out due to the extent of the damage to the bedroom.
“This incident is a stark reminder to always use an appropriate ashtray when smoking and ensure you put cigarettes out properly.
“It also highlights the importance of having smoke alarms, as this fire developed rapidly, but due to the early activation of the alarms and the fact the crews were only a mile away after dealing with another call, we got there extremely quickly and were able to rescue the family.”
For more information on home fire safety please visit https://www.shropshirefire.gov.uk/safety-home/fire-safety-advice
