Firefighters issue warning after tumble dryer blaze

And now they’re reminding appliance users not to leave them running overnight.

A blaze took hold in the lounge of a ground-floor two-bedroom flat in Somerset Court, Gosport, just before 2am.

The mother and three children inside the flat were woken by the sound of a smoke alarm, and got themselves out of the building.

Twelve firefighters attended the scene and worked to put the blaze out, before making other residents in the three-storey building aware of the incident.

Gosport Fire Station watch manager Rob Dellow, said: ‘The stairwell in Somerset Court quickly became clogged with smoke, so we told other residents to stay inside their flats.

‘It looks like an electrical fault in the tumble dryer caused the fire, which occurred while the family were sleeping, but the appliance was too badly damaged to ascertain whether or not it was down to bad maintenance.

‘We want to remind those who use a tumble dryer to clean the fluff that builds up in them out, after every single use.

‘Never leave a tumble dryer or washing machine running if you’re going to sleep.

‘Luckily, in this case, a working smoke alarm made the mother aware of the fire in enough time for the family to get out.

‘This shows how important it is to ensure people have one that’s working in their homes.’

The youngest of the three children, who is five months old, was checked over by a paramedic because of his age.

He was given a clean bill of health and no-one else was hurt or affected by the fire.

Mr Dellow added: ‘The flat was uninhabitable so we set the family up with some accommodation.’