Safety fears as smoke alarm goes up in flames in home

Fire safety officers have stopped giving out a type of smoke detector after one exploded and caused a fire. Humberside Fire And Rescue Service has stopped giving out free Fire Angel alarms until an investigation into the cause of the explosion has been carried out. Homeowner Sharon Gray says her alarm exploded in her utility room. Her teenage daughter was able to extinguish the blaze.

Mrs Gray said if Victoria, 16, had not been at home, the fire would have spread and probably burnt down her property, killing her Jack Russell Cookie who sleeps in the utility room. Mrs Gray, 42, said: "It had started bleeping, so I contacted a fireman who is a family friend to bring me a new one. In the meantime, I put it in the utility in a newspaper rack to muffle the sound. My daughter popped home after a doctor's appointment before she returned to college and saw smoke. If she hadn't been in, I dread to think what would have happened. The fire would have spread and my dog would almost certainly have perished."



Victoria said: "I heard a bang and thought it was the dog, so went to look. I saw smoke, so I turned the electrics off, fetched some water to pour on it and took the basket outside. If I hadn't been there, the basket was near a fabric chair, so it would probably have spread to that. The electrics are near it, so that would have been dangerous too." Since the fire, Humberside Fire And Rescue Service has been investigating the cause. Until the investigation is complete, Fire Angels will no longer be given out as part of the organisation's free smoke detector scheme.

Chris Blacksell, director of safety at Humberside Fire And Rescue Service, said: "This was an extremely rare incident. As part of the ongoing investigation, we have contacted every fire service in the country to find out if there have been any other incidents involving detectors. We believe there has been one other incident nationally, which occurred last week and also involved a detector which had been removed from the ceiling. With that in mind, and due to the fact our own investigation is unlikely to be completed for a few weeks, we have decided to not fit that type of detector until our investigation is complete. This should not be taken to mean we think the detectors are dangerous, merely that until we know more, we will err on the side of caution."