Portable heater fire

Firefighters are highlighting the importance of acting quickly to get out of the house during a fire after a family of four escaped a house fire in Colchester.

Crews were called to a house fire in Turner Road at 8:28am today.

On arrival, crews reported that the house was heavily smoke logged and extinguished the fire by 9:36am.

Firefighters believe the fire was caused by an electrical fault in a portable heater.

The family has been rendered homeless due to the fire and smoke damage.

Station Manager Terry Maher from Colchester Fire Station said: “In what was a frightening moment for the residents who were in the room with the heater when it caught alight, they acted quickly to get out of the house to safety. The fire and smoke spread rapidly and their quick escape saved their lives.

“If there is a fire in your home, it’s so important to get yourself out of the house as quickly and as safely as you can and to call the fire service.

"If you can and it is safe to do so, try to close doors to rooms on your way out of the house to help prevent the fire and smoke spreading. As you can see in one of the photos where the bedroom door upstairs had been closed, shutting doors can help to contain fire and smoke This not only makes it safer for our firefighters who can get the fire under control quickly but it can also help to minimise the damage to your property.

“Like many people this winter, the residents had been using a portable heater to keep the room they were in warm and we’d like to highlight how important it is to stay with the heaters while they are on just in case there is a fault or they catch nearby materials alight. Keep the heaters well away from anything they can catch alight like furniture or curtains and washing etc.”