Five people escaped a fire in a flat on Lascotts Road, Bowes Park, N22 this morning and were treated by London Ambulance Service for smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire is under investigation but it’s believed that an electric heater placed too close to a bed which had flammable material stored underneath it caused the blaze.
The people in the first floor flat were only alerted to the fire when one of the occupants woke up. The hard wired smoke alarm in the flat’s hallway had been removed by the occupants. Around a quarter of the first floor property was damaged in the fire.
Thankfully a smoke alarm in the communal hallway alerted the building’s other residents.
Watch Manager Andy King from our fire investigation team, who was at the scene, said:
“Don’t leave it to luck, it is important to ensure you have a working smoke alarm on every floor in your home and to test it regularly. Most importantly you should never remove it or take the batteries out to use for something else. This fire happened early in the morning and it would have been easy to sleep through it. It was only thanks to someone waking up that the rest of the occupants were alerted.
“We believe the fire was caused by an electric heater being placed too close to a bed – a situation made even worse by the fact that there was more flammable material stored underneath it. Shockingly, over two thirds of fatal fires involving heaters are caused by clothing or furniture being too close. People need to make sure their portable heaters are standing upright and kept well away from clothes, curtains or furniture.”
Four fire engines and around 21 firefighters and officers from Hornsey, Southgate and Tottenham attended the incident.
The Brigade was called at 0610 and the fire was under control at 0732