Smoke alarm prevents Godmanchester flat fire

AN automatic fire alarm saved a flat in Godmanchester from fire, after unattended tea lights resting on newspaper began to smoulder.

AN automatic fire alarm saved a flat in Godmanchester from fire, after unattended tea lights resting on newspaper began to smoulder.

Crews from Huntingdon, St Ives and Cambridge were called to Riverside Mill in Bridge Place at 9am on Friday (March 4).

The alarm was raised after an automatic fire alarm went off inside a first floor flat. No one was at home at the time, but firefighters arrived to discover the cause of the fire was a selection of tea lights which had begun to smoulder through the newspaper they were standing on in the kitchen.

Alison Pardon, watch manager at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Thankfully, the premises had smoke alarms fitted which activated.

“If the tea lights had been left for much longer they would have set fire to the paper they were standing on and the cupboards above, which had already become scorched.

“We would like to remind people to never leave candles unattended and to make sure that they place candles in a proper heat resistant candle holder before use.”