Smoke alarm alerts neighbour to house fire

Two crews from Thames-side fire station attended a fire in St Dunstans Drive, Gravesend, on Wednesday 11^th January at around 12pm.

The fire is thought to have started when the woman accidentally turned on the cooker before leaving her home. A neighbour heard the smoke alarm and quickly alerted the fire service.

Thames-side crew manager Dave Aylwin, said: “Once inside we discovered that a wooden knife block had been left on the cooker. It is believed that the resident had brushed past and accidentally turned the knob on before leaving her home. Thanks to working smoke alarms in the property, a neighbour was alerted and called 999. This enabled our crews to get to the fire quickly, contain it and prevent it from spreading, resulting in minimal damage. However, without the working smoke alarms fitted in her home, the fire could have gone undetected and had far more serious consequences. Fire breaks out when you least expect it and this incident is a timely reminder to other residents that cookers should only be used for cooking and not as additional storage space.”