Firefighters are stepping up warnings regarding the potentially fatal gamble of not having working smoke alarms fitted in the home following the extremely lucky escape of a family of four from a fire at their Denbighshire home in the early hours of this morning (Saturday 3rd March).

Firefighters from Denbigh and St Asaph were called to their property in Bodfari at 01:15hrs after one of the occupiers was awoken by the sound of crackling in the property as the fire took hold in the kitchen.

Three members of the family, a man aged 63, a woman aged 46 and a 16 year old teenage girl, were taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation.

There were no working smoke alarms fitted in the property.

The fire was caused by a frying pan left unattended in the kitchen and resulted in 100% smoke damage to the kitchen, 50% smoke damage to the kitchen ceiling and wall, and 50% smoke damage to the dining room.
 
Simon Talbot from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "This family was extremely lucky to escape unharmed - I cannot overemphasise the importance of having working smoke alarms fitted in your home. Everyone in the house was asleep at the time and if the occupant had not been woken by the sound of the fire taking hold, we could easily have been dealing with another four tragic fire deaths here in North Wales.

"Smoke alarms act effectively as an early warning signal, providing a crucial opportunity to evacuate a property. If a fire breaks out at night when members of your family are asleep, the danger is that without the sound of a smoke alarm to alert them, they will become overcome by smoke while slumbering and never wake up at all.

"Time and time again we attend house fires which have started in the kitchen - it is so easy to forget your cooking, especially if you are tired, distracted or have been drinking. But the consequences can be devastating. So please do not leave your cooking unattended, even for a minute - use a kitchen timer to help you remember.

"This family had used a hose to extinguish the fire which caused a lot of thick smoke and resulted in them suffering from smoke inhalation - my advice is to never tackle a fire yourself. Always get out, stay out and call the fire and rescue service out."

For a free home fire safety check and advice on fire safety in your home, members of the public are urged to call North Wales Fire and Rescue Service's free 24 hour hotline on 0800 169 1234 or visit www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk or text 88365, prefixing the message with the word HFSC.