Stamford Hill family in ‘remarkable’ escape after trying to extinguish house fire themselves
The house in Hillside Road. Picture: London Fire Brigade - Credit: Archant
A family had a “remarkable” escape from a fire in their Stamford Hill home after trying to tackle it themselves with a garden hose.
The house in Hillside Road had no smoke alarms fitted and the blaze, which started in a large freezer, spread quickly from the ground floor up to the first floor.
Four adults and a child were in the property when one of them heard a bang in the dining room and saw the chest freezer in flames.
They then tried to extinguish it before alerting the others and leaving through the front door. Three were forced to climb out of a first-floor window to escape and another left via the back door.
The brigade’s investigators believe the fire was accidental and caused by the failure of a capacitor in a chest freezer.
Watch manager Dean Wilkinson said: “This family had a remarkable and lucky escape. As the property didn’t have smoke alarms, the blaze had really caught hold before anyone noticed.
“Trying to tackle the fire themselves also allowed the fire to develop and delay their escape from the property. Don’t rely on luck - your home should have a minimum of a smoke alarm on every level of your property and you should never try and tackle a fire yourself. Get out, stay out and call 999.
Most Read
- 1 Jailed: Man chased teenager and stabbed him in back in Lower Clapton
- 2 Hackney girls school gets 'good' Ofsted after 'inadequate' rating
- 3 Appeal: CCTV image released after mosque attacked with bottles
- 4 ‘Messy, blundering, inconsiderate’ - Hackney mayor slams police over Dalston op violence
- 5 Elizabeth Line opens: Londoners enjoy first day of service
- 6 'Time for change': Hackney Mayor on re-election plans
- 7 VOTE: Which north London fish and chip shop is your favourite?
- 8 Jailed: North London members of Essex drugs supply network
- 9 Two teenagers charged after 12 phones nicked in stealing spree
- 10 Covid: Slight rise in admissions but fewer patients in hospital overall
“Firefighters were faced with a fully developed fire when they arrived at the scene with the ground and first floors well alight. Crews worked extremely hard in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control and stopped it from spreading to neighbouring properties.”