WARNING OVER ALARMING RISE IN COVENTRY HOUSE FIRES
AN alarming rise in accidental house fires is causing concern for Coventry fire officers, who want to make people aware of a free safety check that could save lives.
Call outs to fires caused by activities like cooking and smoking are becoming increasingly common across the city, and they can cause devastating damage and injury.
Ryan Forrester, station manager at Binley fire station, is in charge of prevention across Coventry and Solihull.
He has been looking into a report by West Midlands Fire Service which analyses which areas are seeing the biggest increases and what type of fires are most common.
Ryan told the Telegraph that crews saw more than 20 accidental house fires during the months of May, June and July this year in Coventry and Solihull compared to the last three years.
Worryingly, less people are signing up for the free safety check that the fire service provides.
According to the report, some areas have seen a higher increase than others in the city.
Fire crews have been called out to a much higher number of accidental fires than usual this year in wards including Radford, Cheylesmore, Holbrook/Longford and Binley and Willenhall.
The most common cause of accidental house fires in Coventry is cooking.
Over half (53 per cent) of call outs to accidental fires that officers attended were due to cooking fires.
In July, a mum and her toddler were rescued from their house by rookie cops when a fire started in the kitchen. It prompted Binley fire station to put out a tweet reminding people not to leave hobs unattended.
The next most common type of accidental fire that crews see are ones caused by electrical faults or appliances overheating.
They make up almost a quarter (23 per cent) of accidental fires in Coventry. A small percentage (eight per cent) are started by secondary spread - for example when a large fire like a bonfire gets out of control.
The remaining 16 per cent of fires fall into the category ‘other’ which can include things like the careless disposal of cigarette butts and not blowing out candles.
Earlier this month, a man in a wheelchair was rescued from his flat in Willenhall by firefighters after a smoldering fire started underneath him. He had been smoking in bed and was still asleep when crews arrived. As well as causing devastating damage to houses, accidental fires can cause injury if they become unmanageable. Since April, more than 10 people have been recorded as injured following accidental house fires in Coventry. This includes people who have suffered burns to their skin and injuries due to smoke inhalation, who have either had to be rescued from homes, or led to safety. Fire crews often face a difficult task when getting people out of homes, especially if the exit is not easily accessible. More than a third of accidental fires (38 per cent) occur in flats and maisonettes, according to the report. Just under a third (32 per cent) are in terraced houses and almost a fifth (19 per cent) are in semidetached houses. The fire service want to reduce the number of accidental fires they attend in Coventry, and offer a number of services which can help you keep your home safe. A safe and well visit can be conducted by your local fire station to assess your property and offer tailored safety advice completely free of charge. West Midlands Fire Service also offer free safety demonstrations to local community groups - for example, if you run a cooking class, they can come along to a session to teach basic safety skills. To keep up with the latest messages from your local station you can follow them on social media.