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Good night time routine stops kitchen fire spreading

A family were saved from a fire in their home thanks a good night time routine preventing it from spreading.

Crews from Wokingham Road and Wokingham fire stations went to a house on Greenacres Lane, Winnersh, after Thames Valley Fire Control Service (TVFCS) received a 999 call at 5.40am on Tuesday 28 March.

Firefighters arrived to find a well developed fire in the kitchen.

Crew Manager Danny Wheeler, based at Wokingham Road Fire Station, said: “The actions of the woman who lives there undoubtedly saved the family’s life because she had closed the kitchen door before going to bed.

“The kitchen is badly damaged and our crews faced really acrid and black nasty smoke when we got there, but the firefighters managed to put it out quickly and did a good job.

“However, the important message out of this is the difference it has made to the family by closing the door to the kitchen before going to bed, as it allowed them to escape that fire, when we could’ve been rescuing three badly injured people otherwise.”

Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus went into the blaze and extinguished it using a hose reel.

The family were alerted to the blaze by a neighbour who spotted the smoke and knocked on the door to wake them.

While there were working smoke alarms in the property, the fire was contained so well by the closure of the kitchen door that they did not sound before the smoke was spotted.

The fire had started after clothes that had been taken out of a tumble dryer ignited.

You can find out more about fire safety in the home on the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service website.