Home owner’s quick thinking helped stop fire from spreading

Guernsey Fire & Rescue were called to a residential property in Les Tracheries just after 6pm on Friday.

One of the residents of the property said they knew something was wrong when they opened the fridge and noticed the light was not switching on. Realising the electric was out they investigated the house and found smoke coming from the washing machine, which was on.

They switched off the electricity, but the machine caught fire.

They closed the door to the utility room, where the machine was, and called the fire brigade.

All residents of the property, including their two cats, then evacuated outside.

Watch commander Gary Sargent from Blue Watch said when they arrived they checked the utility room through the window and saw the fire was well alight.

‘The lady had closed the door, which had contained the fire and that stopped it spreading to the rest of the house,’ he said.

‘Before opening the door [which was the only access to the room] we tried to extinguish it through the window to knock the flames back.’

Firefighters donned breathing apparatus and entered the house. After closing all the internal doors they could, to stop smoke spreading through the property, they entered the utility room and extinguished the fire.

‘The main damage is to that one room,’ he said.

‘The washing machine and dryer have been destroyed and there is some water damage.’

Fortunately, the room had a tiled floor and the firefighters helped to remove water from the scene.

Mr Sargent said the property owner’s fast thinking was a very good thing.

‘Closing the door saved a massive amount of damage to the property,’ he said.