Firefighters have issued a safety warning spelling out what people should do if a blaze takes hold at their home. They have shared photos of extensive damage following house fires that "could have ended in tragedy".
It comes after crews were called to two incidents in Newcastle where householders had tried to put out fires themselves using water. Rather than extinguishing the flames this caused the situation to get worse.
Firefighters were first called to a kitchen blaze at just after 5pm on Thursday, January 5, involving cooking oil that had caught fire in a pan. Water had been poured on the hot pan in an attempt to douse the fire, which spread instead.
Crews were on the scene in just four minutes and were able to put out the fire, however, it had caused severe damage to the kitchen, ChronicleLive reports. Then, at shortly after 8.10pm the same evening, crews were called to an electrical fire.
A suspected burst water pipe had caused the fuse box to ignite but, when the occupants tried to extinguish it using water, it had spread to the cavity between the floor joists. Again firefighters were on the scene within minutes and used cutting gear to access the cavity to tackle the blaze.
Steve Burdis, service delivery group manager at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, warned people against "tackling a fire themselves" to avoid "disastrous" consequences. He said: “In both incidents, we were on the scene in a matter of minutes to immediately begin tackling the fire and preventing it from spreading any further.
“The quick work of our fire control, and then the decisive actions of those crews who responded, stopped any further damage from taking place at either address. We don’t necessarily expect the public to understand how to tackle different kinds of fires, or how different types of fire will react to water.
“That is why we would never endorse anyone tackling a fire themselves and would always encourage you to get to safety and call 999. Throwing water on a fire caused by oil igniting can be disastrous, this causes an explosive reaction that can be those in the vicinity at immediate risk of harm.
"Similarly, when dealing with electric fires, never use water to try and extinguish it. This can again cause a fire to spread even further.
“Our thoughts are with the families involved in both these incidents as we know just how devastating it can be to fall victim to a fire. This could have happened to anybody and, above anything, we are relieved nobody was injured.
"The occupants at one of the addresses did shut the door to the kitchen during the fire and this greatly reduced the spread. Always keep internal doors closed. Please remember these incidents if you’re unfortunate to experience a fire in your home and make sure you have a working smoke alarm fitted.”
