A North Tyneside family face an uncertain Christmas after unattended candles set fire to their home - leaving them homeless over the festive season.
Robert and Lesley Nunwood of Brunswick Green, North Tyneside, had lit two candles on Thursday, 17 December but then went out for the afternoon forgetting to blow them out.
"My wife and I were just having a cup of tea and decided to get in to the Christmas spirit by lighting a couple of candles on the dining room table," explained Robert, a 42-year old civil servant. "After our cuppa we headed out the door to go to our children's carol service, completely forgetting to blow them out before we left the house."
Robert returned several hours later with his son William, 14, to find the house filled with smoke. "The first thing I noticed was the acrid smell of smoke as I turned the key in the front porch door. As I headed down the hallway I could see a haze of smoke. I opened the dining room door and the place was full of it - you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
"I could hear the smoke alarms going off but until I was faced with the smoke in the dining room it hadn't really sunk in that the house was on fire. Thankfully, I kept my wits about me, got William who was standing behind me, closed the dining room door and headed straight back outside where I called the fire and rescue service."
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service's Control Room received the call at 4.55pm and crews arrived within minutes. Two crews from Newcastle North Community Fire Station in Gosforth attended and put out the fire using two hose reels, with four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus. The dining room was 25 per cent damaged by fire, but completely damaged by smoke, with significant smoke damage to rest of the property.
Area Manager John Baines, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said: "Thankfully, as the family were out when the fire started no one was injured, however the consequences could have been so much worse. The family did have working smoke alarms which would have provided them with an early warning of fire, but it's still a devastating blow in the run up to christmas.
"We urge everyone to take extra care to reduce the risk of fire at all times. People are particularly vulnerable at Christmas when they may have unsafe electrical decorations or unattended candles, or additionally when cooking after drinking alcohol."
John continued: "People also vastly underestimate the deadly strength of **toxic smoke and overestimate how long they have to escape should a fire break out. The reality is that two or three breaths of smoke in a fire can render a person unconscious. People think that if they are asleep when a fire breaks out, they will be woken up by the smell of smoke or be alerted by someone else, when in reality, without a smoke alarm, there is a high probability that they may not wake up at all."
"I am still in shock," continued Robert. "You always think that something like this will never happen to you but it can. I would urge everyone to be extra careful and never leave candles unattended. Either don't use them at all or make sure you blow them out when you leave the room. It could save you and your family. At the very least, we are facing an uncertain christmas but it could have been so much worse. I thank my lucky stars we were out at the time and not fast asleep upstairs."
John added: "Christmas should be a time for celebration rather than tragedy. We want everyone to have a happy and safe Christmas this year so we are urging people to take fire safety seriously. Get smoke alarms installed, test them weekly, reduce or remove any fire hazards and plan your escape route in case of a fire."
It is thought that the fire started due to a crack in the candle holder which caused the candle to tip over and set light to surrounding materials.
Here are Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service's top tips to protect your family and home from fire this Christmas:
1. Fit a smoke alarm on each level of your home. Test your smoke alarm weekly and never remove batteries to power presents.
2. Plan your escape route. Make sure you and your family know the quickest way out in the event of a fire. Consider an alternative route in case your usual one is blocked.
3. Never leave cooking unattended and avoid cooking while drunk.
4. Never leave candles unattended. Keep decorations, cards and wrapping paper away from candles, fires, lights and heaters.
5. Ensure you switch off fairy lights and unplug them before you go to bed or leave the house. Check your Christmas tree lights conform to the British Standard (BS EN 60598).
6. Don't overload sockets. Always turn off plugs when they are not in use.
7. Make sure cigarettes are extinguished properly and never smoke in bed.
8. Check on older relatives and neighbours this Christmas as they are at greater risk from fire.
9. Ask the experts: Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service offers free home safety advice. They also offer free home safety checks to those most at risk from fire. This includes identifying potential fire risks and advice on what to do to reduce or prevent them, and will fit free smoke alarms.
10. And finally, in the event of a fire: get out, stay out and call 999.
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