Firefighters warning after family of five's lucky escape in Garden City

Firefighters are warning of the importance of taking care with electrical items after a family of five had a lucky escape from a fire at their property in Deeside.

Two fire appliances from Deeside were mobilised to the incident on Sealand Avenue in Garden City in the early hours of this morning, Wednesday 19th November, crews used a hose reel jet and four sets of breathing apparatus in tackling the incident.

A 43 year old woman and her four children – 16 year old daughter, 12 and 10 year old sons and 6 month old baby boy – were taken to hospital for treatment and precautionary checks for smoke inhalation.

The fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault in a dishwasher and damage was confined to the kitchen.

The warning from firefighters comes just over a month after two men lost their lives in a fire in Llanrwst, which is thought to have started in a tumble dryer, and a week after North Wales Fire and Rescue Service supported a nationwide Electrical Safety Week initiative to warn residents of the potential dangers of electrical fires as one of the biggest causes of accidental house fires in the country.

Chris Nott, Community Safety Manager, said:

“This family were extremely lucky. Thanks to the activation of a smoke alarm the occupants were able to escape relatively unharmed and firefighter attendance was timely such that any further damage could be prevented.

“Electrical fires present a real risk to homeowners, often resulting in significant damage to property and sometimes with the most tragic consequences, as we have witnessed recently in Llanrwst. 

“The majority of electrical fires are caused by misuse of the electrical items. It’s important to operate appliances according to the manufacturers’ instructions and to check items and leads for signs of damage or wear. So many residents use old or dangerous electrical items and overload their sockets, causing a potentially fatal fire risk.

“Remember, it is important to switch off all appliances before you go to bed – if a fire starts when you are asleep you may never wake up.

“Electrical fires can happen to anyone, anywhere so our advice is to get prepared and stay safe –

North wales Fire and rescue offer a free home fire safety check, where new smoke alarms are fitted where needed totally free of charge, you can call a 24 hour hotline on 0800 1691243, or visit www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk.