House fire caused by overloaded extension cable

A fire in Clacton caused by an overloaded extension cable has completely destroyed a house. 

Crews were called to a terrace house in Clacton yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) after reports of a fire. 

On arrival firefighters reported that the first floor of the house was completely alight. 

Firefighters worked to stop the fire spreading any further and extinguished it within 40 minutes. 

Watch Manager David Garratt said: "We arrived to a well developed fire on the first floor. The fire had started under the stairs and was caused by an overloaded extension cable which was connected to a tortoise vivarium. 

"Crews worked extremely hard to extinguish the fire quickly but as all the doors were open in the property, the fire had spread to every single room. The house has been left completely uninhabitable.

"This incident is an important reminder not to overload your plug sockets and extension cables. To use sockets safely, stick to one adaptor per socket and avoid plugging adaptors into each other. Bar adaptors are generally better to use than block adaptors. Extension leads have a limit on how many amps they can take, make sure you’re not overloading them.

"Another thing to remember is if you can, try to make a habit of keeping your doors shut as this can drastically minimise the damage to your home if there’s a fire."

Crews were able to save one tortoise, but sadly one tortoise died. 

Plugs and Socket Safety

• Hot plugs or sockets, scorch marks, fuses that often blow, or flickering light are all signs of loose wiring or other electrical problems
• Badly wired plugs. Any coloured wires sticking out could come loose and debris could also get into the plug
• Overloaded sockets. Plugging too many electrical appliances into one socket can lead to overheating
• Use sockets safely. It’s better to use a bar adaptor (multi-board) on a lead than a block adaptor
• Only use one adaptor per socket. Don’t plug one adaptor into another and try to keep to one plug per socket
• Don't overload extension leads and adaptors, they have a limit on how many amps they can take