Snow globe caused Christmas charity shop fire

A fire in the window of a Bournemouth charity shop on Christmas morning was caused by sunlight refracting through a snow globe, the fire service have said. Crews were sent to the shop in Winton, Dorset, at around 11.30am.



Occupants of neighbouring properties were advised to evacuate and firefighters put the flames out within 10 minutes of arriving on the scene.

A spokesman for Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said: "At the risk of sounding like a Christmas tale, the cause of the fire was believed to be sun refracting through a snow globe in the shop window, which then ignited 'reindeer food' and fake snow material in their window display.



"There was severe fire damage to the shop window display, heat damage to the window and severe smoke damage to the entire shop." Fire investigator Stu Jeneson said that these types of incidents were rare, but were possible, especially with the sun lower in the sky.