Sunlight on glass is blamed for flat fire
A BALCONY caught fire as Leicestershire baked in Monday’s intense heat, when the sun’s rays turned an ornament into a firestarter.
The sunshine passing through the decoration magnified into a beam which set clothing left out to dry ablaze.
It was a busy day for crews who were also called to coach fire on the A42, where traffic was halted for almost two hours.
Fire crews were called to a ground-floor flat in Hume Street, Loughborough, shortly before 2.15pm.
They found the balcony and rear door were on fire.
There were concerns initially that people were inside the property at the time. However, crews quickly established everyone at the scene was safe.
The blaze was put out before 3pm, leaving “minimal damage” to the property, according to a brigade spokesman.
On the A42, flames had engulfed the coach by the time fire crews arrived.
Emergency crews were alerted to the blaze by numerous callers at about 3.40pm.
A spokesman for the fire service said no injuries were reported.
It was not disclosed how many people had been on board the vehicle at the time.
Earlier in the day a rescue team pulled a man from John Merrick’s Lake in Watermead Park - after he was saved by passers-by.
With temperatures reaching 26C by 1pm across Leicestershire yesterday and the heatwave expected to continue into early next week, people are being warned to expect a higher risk of such incidents.
The fire service, police and health services have warned people to take precautions to avoid the risk of fire and health issues.