Fire in glamping pod leaves young woman critically ill in hospital
GLAMPERS have been warned over fire risks after a young woman was left critically ill when a heater set her upmarket “pod” on fire.
Lydia Wadsworth, 20, suffered burns to her right arm and a “severely” damaged respiratory system following the blaze. Miss Wadsworth was injured last weekend while on a luxury camping holiday in a wooden pod – referred to as “glamping” – in Frodsham, Cheshire. Fire safety and camping experts have warned that glamping accommodation must be treated with the same level of caution as traditional tents, and warned against using heating appliances indoors.
Hannah Mansell, spokesman for Fire Door Safety Week, said: “When you are on holiday, fire safety is often the last thing on your mind.
“It is extremely concerning that we are seeing a rise in these types of incidents and Fire Door Safety Week is a reminder to all those that have a legal responsibilities for fire safety to take them deadly seriously, because dealing with the long term and life-changing consequences of burns and smoke inhalation is truly devastating.”
Ms Mansell cautioned against cooking inside using camping stoves, saying “this isn’t just a fire risk, but a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning as well”.
Website campingexpert.co.uk warns that accommodation such as glamping pods may “present even more potential for a fire risk” because of their “design and purpose”.
It advises: “Never light a candle or have any other kind of flame burning apparatus in or near to a tent. Even in the larger tents which are marketed as being more geared to cooking, recommendations suggest that, whenever possible, you cook outside and away from the tent. If you do have a large tent and are planning on cooking inside, you need to be especially vigilant.”
Miss Wadsworth, from Ashton-in-makerfield, in Wigan, Greater Manchester, suffered “severe” damage to her throat and lungs from the blaze, which was started from a log burner inside her accommodation.
She is thought to have been with her boyfriend, Rob Mcdonnell, 24, when the pair were rescued.
She is now being treated at the specialist Whiston Hospital in Merseyside for burns and her seriously damaged respiratory system.
Miss Wadsworth’s family updated friends and relatives on social media, writing: “Just to let you all know Lydia is currently being nursed in critical care at Whiston Hospital following being trapped in a fire in a Glamping Pod. She can’t speak as she has a ventilation pipe which blocks her voice box.
“However she has written to ask if we’d write a message to her friends and family thanking them for their kind wishes at such a difficult time.”
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed they attended the “accidental” blaze last Saturday at 11.35pm at night at the pod.
A spokesman said the fire was “accidental”. She added: “There was a log burner in the pods and they put clothes on to it and they set alight.”
The fire service said in a statement: “Two people in the pod were rescued by members of the public prior to the arrival of fire crews, who were at the scene for one hour and 50 minutes.”
The incident occurred at the privately-owned Cheshire Glamping Centre, at the Lady Heyes Caravan and Camping Site, in Kingsley, Frodsham.
A spokesman for the site said: “All we know is there were clothes pressed on the log burner. It sounded like a Puffa jacket was wrapped around it to dry. That’s all we’ve been told. It didn’t spread. We’ve been running glamping for a long, long time and never had anything like this before.”
Nathan Brew, a fire safety expert at the NFU Mutual, said: “Glamping is a new trend and the fire risks are very similar [to camping]. These pods are small and made of wood to give the rustic effect and they tend to use a log -burning stove – it’s important to use it sensibly … they produce a lot of heat, sometimes up to 500 degrees”.
‘There was a log burner in the pods and they put clothes onto it and they set it alight’