A family of five had a lucky escape after they took the batteries out of their smoke alarm. As a result they were unaware of a deadly fire that broke out in their home in the middle of the night. The only reason the family woke during the night while the raging fire was stirring was due to a loud bang from an explosion in the kitchen. It was discovered that the fire was caused by a tumble dryer which spread throughout the kitchen. All five family members managed to escape the fire with only minor injuries and smoke inhalation.

Since this incident the Blurton family is appealing to other families to check their smoke alarms to make sure that they are working after shocking statistics show that 465 fires were due to having a smoke alarm but not fully functioning whilst 124 had no smoke alarm at all.

The family is unable to return home after the house fire as the extent of damage throughout the property is substantial. The family has been staying at close friends houses, with the 2 youngest daughters having to attend their primary school yesterday in their normal clothes due to their uniforms getting destroyed in the fire. Also Tim Box, Lucy’s boyfriend aged 28 was also led to flee the fire saying, he was “gutted and shocked”.

Due to this type of incident occurring all too frequently the Fire Safety Services are informing people to make sure that a working smoke alarm is fitted as well as urging homeowners not to leave appliances operating overnight such as the use of dishwashers, washing machines or tumble dryers.  Also never leave appliances switched on overnight such as a kettle, a TV or a cooker switch as they can easily overheat and cause a fire. Mrs Blurton said ‘it’s just one of those things, which you say will never happen to you but it did and we were wrong’.