Firefighters have expressed their concern following a recent kitchen house fire

Concern Following Kitchen Fire in Silverdale
Firefighters have expressed their concern following a recent house fire in Silverdale.

Firefighters from Newcastle were sent to the incident at a bungalow at approximately 6.15pm on Monday evening.

The incident involved a kitchen fire which firefighters extinguished; however on further inspection crews discovered a loft conversion, which while meeting safety standards and building regulations many years ago was considered to be of a risk to anyone sleeping based on our current Home Fire Risk Check.
Station Manager Ian Housley said:

“The bungalow had a loft conversion that posed a risk to anyone who was asleep in upper bedrooms. An elderly lady lived at the property and her granddaughter was using the loft as a bedroom. There was only one escape route which was a very narrow staircase leading down to the kitchen where evidence shows that there is an increased risk of fire from cooking for example.

“If the fire had happened in the kitchen during the night when the occupiers were asleep the granddaughter would have found it extremely difficult to exit the property safely, if at all. Also she may not have even been alerted to any fire as not all smoke alarms fitted were working correctly.

“We’d encourage members of the public who have loft conversions to ensure that they comply with all current planning and building regulations and that they contact us for a free Home Fire Risk Check on 0800 0241 999.”

The elderly lady required oxygen therapy as a result of the incident but did not attend hospital.

Crews fitted new smoke alarms at the property and then advised the granddaughter to sleep downstairs until further building standard advice had been sought.