Smoke alarm wakes Canning Town resident

A CANNING TOWN resident was woken up by a smoke alarm earlier this week – as a discarded cigarette set their flat alight.

Local firefighters are publicising the case to remind the public that having working smoke alarms in their properties is a vital step towards keeping safe.

The blaze too hold in a house in Radland Road, Canning Town, which has been converted into flats. Half of the ground floor was badly damaged by the fire.

One man got out of the building before the emergency services arrived. The London Ambulance Service took him to hospital for a check up but it is believed that he has not suffered serious injury.

Plaistow Watch Manager John Holtem, who was at the scene, said, “When we arrived, there were large plumes of smoke coming out of the top two windows.

The occupier was alerted to the fire by his smoke alarms. It’s incidents like these that show how important it is to have working smoke alarms fitted on every level of your home – and regularly test them.

“Smoke alarms give the earliest possible warning when a fire starts and we would urge everyone to make sure they have one fitted in every room where a fire can start except kitchens or bathrooms where heat alarms are more appropriate.”

The fire began at 1.24 am – and it took four fire engines and around 25 firefighters from Plaistow, Poplar, East Ham and Stratford to get the fire under control, which was achieved by 2.17am. This is a huge resource to deal with the consequences of one discarded cigarette, and firefighters are reminding the public to be very careful about how they smoke and how they discard smoking materials.

•For fire safety advice for smokers, go to:
Fire Safety Advice

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