| A Margate man suffered serious burns after a fire started by tea lights |
A Margate man suffered serious burns after a fire in his home.
Twenty firefighters from Margate, Ramsgate and Thanet were sent to the Grosvenor Road property at 4.50pm after the fire - started by tea lights - broke out. The occupant was asleep when the fire started but managed to escape. He sustained severe burns and smoke inhalation as a result.
Firefighters, using breathing apparatus, entered the house and extinguished the fire, which had started in the lounge. The fire, which destroyed most of the basement, was out by 5.20 pm.
Margate Station Manager Mick Smith said: "The fire broke out while the man was asleep in his bedroom and there were no working smoke alarms in the property. This incident could have been much more serious."
He added: "Unfortunately people often treat tea lights as some sort of harmless decoration but we know that they can cause damage, destruction and even death. We want to help everyone keep themselves, their loved ones and their homes safe from the threat of fire; so if you have to use tea lights, please use them carefully, keep them well away from anything that could easily ignite and never leave them unattended. It is essential too, that you fit a smoke alarm on every floor of your home to give you that all-important early warning in the event of a fire. "