Two occupants of a high-rise building in Stockton had a fortunate escape this past weekend following a kitchen fire in their flat at Hume House.
In the early hours of Saturday, July 27, 2024, at 2:54am, a fire broke out in the kitchen due to an unattended chip pan. Seven fire engines from Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Saltburn, Stockton and Thornaby arrived within minutes to rescue the occupants and tackle the blaze.
The two residents were safely evacuated by the fire crews and handed over to the ambulance service for assessment. Fortunately, the building’s sprinkler system activated and extinguished the fire, preventing it from spreading. The system also isolated the flat’s electrics, reducing further risk. Whilst the flat sustained some water damage, the overall impact of smoke damage and risk of the spread of fire was significantly reduced.
The fire was quickly contained, and this ensured the safety of the other building residents.
“This incident serves as a stark reminder for residents to chuck out their chip pans, which are major fire hazards, and switch to safer alternatives like air fryers. We are incredibly thankful to Thirteen Group for having the foresight in installing the sprinkler system which activated, extinguishing the fire and preventing it from spreading within the flat, which could have been catastrophic.” Says Joe Flounders, Head of Protection at Cleveland Fire Brigade.
“We believe that sprinklers are a highly effective, reliable and a cost-effective fire safety measure that can save lives, reduce injuries, protect our firefighters who attend incidents, provide peace of mind for our residents and reduce property damage. Cleveland Fire Brigade is committed to reducing risk to its communities and the installation of sprinklers by residential properties, businesses, schools and care homes will help achieve this.” Continued Joe Flounders.
Thirteen’s head of health and safety Peter Taylor said: “The safety and wellbeing of our customers is our number one priority. Thankfully no one was injured during the incident and we’ll continue to support our customers affected.
“We’ve made significant investment over recent years to ensure the highest possible safety standards are in place, with more than £2million being spent on installing extra safety measures like the sprinkler systems at Hume House, which work automatically in the event of a fire, helping to ensure that our residents feel safe and have peace of mind at all times.”
If you have any concerns about the safety of your property or would like to know more about sprinkler systems please contact our Fire Engineering Department by email: fireengineeringhelpdesk@clevelandfire.gov.uk.
