Candle alert after fire
A MUM from Widnes believes she and her teenage daughter are ‘lucky to be alive’ after they suffered burns in a house fire caused by a lit candle which destroyed a bedroom.
Susan Forsyth was awoken by the sounds of her 18-yearold daughter Courtney screaming and the smoke alarms in their Lacey Street home sounding in the early hours of the morning.
A burning candle in Courtney’s bedroom had set her quilt alight as she slept and left her with burns to her legs, arms, feet, back and hair. Susan rushed to her aid and tried to beat the fire out, but the flames quickly spread throughout the bedroom and left her with burns on her arm. Unable to put the fire out, Susan led Courtney and her 17-year-old son out of the house.
Firefighters soon arrived from Widnes, Runcorn and Penketh fire stations after being notified by a neighbour.
The crews isolated the gas and electricity supplies to the house and used a hose reel jet and a covering jet to extinguish the fire.
They also gave Susan and Courtney oxygen before paramedics arrived to take the pair to hospital to treat them for smoke inhalation as well as their burns.
Susan was discharged later that day but Courtney spent two days in hospital.
With the fire having destroyed Courtney’s bedroom and caused extensive damage to the rest of the upstairs of the house, they had to recover from their injuries at temporary accommodation in Widnes.
Susan is now warning of the dangers posed by lit candles.
Susan, 49, said: “We are lucky to be alive and I will never allow a candle to be in my home again. Courtney had a lit candle in her room when she fell asleep. My 17-year-old son and I were also asleep in the house.
“That candle has left my daughter with burns from her feet to her hair, some of which were caused by wax from the candle, and left me with burns on my arm.
“It has also caused extensive damage to our family home. Courtney has been left in a lot of pain and we are all still in shock over what happened. It was absolutely terrifying, but it could have been a lot worse.
“I dread to think what would have happened if Courtney had not woken up when she did and if we did not have working smoke alarms in the house.
“It was around 5am when I was woken up by the sounds of Courtney screaming and the smoke alarms sounding.
“Courtney was under her quilt when it was set alight by the candle.
“I tried to put it out but the fire spread so quickly. Thankfully all three of us were able to get out of the house.
“The firefighters and the paramedics were amazing. The fire was put out as quickly as possible, preventing the house from being complexly destroyed and the flames spreading to our neighbours’ homes.
“Firefighters evacuated our next door neighbours’ homes and also gave Courtney and I oxygen as we were both suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.
“I just hope that others learn from what has happened to us and never leave a candle burning when they leave a room or before going to sleep.”
Four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus went inside the house on Monday, June 3.
Once the fire was out they checked that it had not spread to the loft space using a thermal imaging camera.
The crews left the scene after making sure that the bedroom and the house in general were safe and were in attendance for more than ● two hours.
Cheshire Fire And Rescue Service’s head of prevention Nick Evans said: “Candles can lend a warm glow to an evening, but please remember that they also bring fire into your home.
“As such, they need to be treated carefully.
“Leaving candles lit when you leave a room or go to sleep can have fatal consequences. Candle fires result in around 350 casualties in the UK each year, with nearly 40 per cent of all fires started by candles resulting in a death or injury. To prevent such a fire starting in your home please follow our candle safety advice.”
Firefighters advise using battery operated candles, which give the ambience of the real thing, rather than using real ones.
Users are advised to continually supervise all candles and extinguish them when the level of wax reduces close to the base of a jar.
Even once the candle is out, never pick up a hot jar that has contained a burning candle until it has cooled sufficiently to be able to do so.
He added: “I wish the family all the very best and hope that they recover fully from this ordeal.
“If anyone finds a fire in their home they should not try to tackle it themselves but get out of the house as quickly as possible, stay out and dial 999.
“Incidents like the bedroom fire in Widnes also emphasise the importance of having a working smoking alarm on every floor of your home and having an effective plan of action to escape should a fire ever start in your property.”