Received a phone call from the tenant who's renting our apartment in Birmingham to say that there had been a fire in the apartment directly below ours. Could I please come round to check for any potential damage. When I got to the apartment the emergency services had already left and the only remaining fire services official left at the flat confirmed that there had indeed been a fire but that it was brought under control within 10 minutes of them arriving there. There had been excessive smoke generation because of a sofa which had caught fire so you can imagine the smell permiating through the building. The very sad news is that despite the quick arrival of the fire brigade and ambulance service, the occupant, a single dad of two, had died en route to the hospital ...
Fortunately, the core of the block of apartments is made of concrete as are the dividing cealings and floors. This meant that the fire was very contained but also that there was no structural or water damage to the other apartments.
Later this afternoon, I contacted the management company who owns the block of apartments to find out what happens next. In the course of our conversation I was told that a preliminary investigation revealed that a burning cigarette bud falling onto the sofa was the most likely cause of the fire. There were no batteries in the smoke alarms in the apartment. Had there been then the chap's live would probably have been saved. He must have fallen asleep on the sofa whilst still smoking his cigarette ...
The reason I'm putting all this info up is to impress upon all of you the need to have sufficient WORKING smoke detectors in your house. Check to make sure that they work at least once a month if not more often. Make sure that you've got a fire blanket and a fire extinguisher in the house as well and that you know how to exit the house even in complete darkness (ie, an escape route). Make sure that everyone else living in your house knows where to go in the event of a fire. I can not stress enough how important this is - lives can be saved for the cost of a new set of batteries in your smoke detectors.
So I urge all of you to test your smoke detectors NOW. If you're not sure when you last changed the battery then put a fresh one in. Do not delay. You can even buy smoke detectors with lithium bateries that last around 10 years!
I didn't know the chap all that well but for the sake of some batteries his children would still have a father today ... RIP John.
PS - please excuse me if the above comes over all sanctiminious and alarmist - but I just could not leave it unsaid.
Hi all,
Well, it's been a strange day today ...
Received a phone call from the tenant who's renting our apartment in Birmingham to say that there had been a fire in the apartment directly below ours. Could I please come round to check for any potential damage. When I got to the apartment the emergency services had already left and the only remaining fire services official left at the flat confirmed that there had indeed been a fire but that it was brought under control within 10 minutes of them arriving there. There had been excessive smoke generation because of a sofa which had caught fire so you can imagine the smell permiating through the building. The very sad news is that despite the quick arrival of the fire brigade and ambulance service, the occupant, a single dad of two, had died en route to the hospital ...
Fortunately, the core of the block of apartments is made of concrete as are the dividing cealings and floors. This meant that the fire was very contained but also that there was no structural or water damage to the other apartments.
Later this afternoon, I contacted the management company who owns the block of apartments to find out what happens next. In the course of our conversation I was told that a preliminary investigation revealed that a burning cigarette bud falling onto the sofa was the most likely cause of the fire. There were no batteries in the smoke alarms in the apartment. Had there been then the chap's live would probably have been saved. He must have fallen asleep on the sofa whilst still smoking his cigarette ...
The reason I'm putting all this info up is to impress upon all of you the need to have sufficient WORKING smoke detectors in your house. Check to make sure that they work at least once a month if not more often. Make sure that you've got a fire blanket and a fire extinguisher in the house as well and that you know how to exit the house even in complete darkness (ie, an escape route). Make sure that everyone else living in your house knows where to go in the event of a fire. I can not stress enough how important this is - lives can be saved for the cost of a new set of batteries in your smoke detectors.
So I urge all of you to test your smoke detectors NOW. If you're not sure when you last changed the battery then put a fresh one in. Do not delay. You can even buy smoke detectors with lithium bateries that last around 10 years!
I didn't know the chap all that well but for the sake of some batteries his children would still have a father today ... RIP John.
PS - please excuse me if the above comes over all sanctiminious and alarmist - but I just could not leave it unsaid.