Man escapes injury after airing cupboard fire (From Surrey Comet)

Man escapes injury after airing cupboard fire

9:07am Tuesday 14th February 2012 in Epsom By Lauren May

An elderly man narrowly escaped injury after a fire started in his airing cupboard.

Fire fighters were called to a house in Furze Hill, Kingswood, on Monday, February 13, at about 7.45 after the man’s smoke alarm alerted him to the fire.

A spokesperson for Epsom’s green watch said: "We got there and it was very smoky and there was a strong smell of burning.

"It took us a while but eventually we found it coming from the boiler.

"A piece of material had dropped down behind the boiler and had caught alight and was smouldering."

The fire serves as a reminder of the importance of installing a working fire alarm.

The spokesperson added: "We managed to remove that and that was thwarted. But if he hadn’t had a fire alarm installed or had gone to bed without a smoke alarm it would have been a lot worse."