The London Fire Brigade has warned of leaving candles unattended following a flat fire in Bow.
Four fire engines and around 20 firefighters were called to the fire in a block of flats on Campbell Road yesterday at 1.15pm.
Around 20 people left the four storey block before the brigade arrived. A woman was help to safety by firefighters and treated for smoke inhalation by London Ambulance staff on the scene. The fire, which was brought under control in about an hour, damaged part of a basement flat.
The brigade’s Borough Commander, Bruce Epsly, said: “We believe the fire was caused by unattended candles. It’s incredibly important never to leave your candles unattended, you’d be surprised how many people leave them lit when they go to bed or pop out to the shops. It’s that festive time of year when people start using candles more and more – if that’s you – please, please do be careful and keep an eye on them.”
Figures from last December show one fire a day in London was caused by a candle. This caused, on average, one fire injury every other day. Nationally, firefighters went to nearly 150 candle related fires in the last December.
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