Stourport house blaze caused by faulty dishwasher (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Stourport house blaze caused by faulty dishwasher

1:23pm Monday 10th September 2012 in Local

A BLAZE that ripped through the ground floor of a Stourport house is believed to have been caused by a faulty dishwasher.

The fire broke out in the utility room of the house in Stagborough Way just after 3pm last Friday.

An elderly man and his wife were rescued from the property by firefighters and taken to hospital where they were checked for the effects smoke inhalation.

Firefighters from Kidderminster, Stourport and Bewdley were called to the blaze after a smoke alarm at the property activated and alerted the occupants.

Crews arrived at the house to find a fully developed fire involving both the utility room of the property and a caravan stored in the adjoining garage.

Eight firefighters in breathing apparatus used two hose reels and one main jet to control the fire.

The caravan in the garage was destroyed in the blaze, and there was fire damage to the ground floor of the property and extensive smoke damage throughout the rest of the house.

Station Commander George Marshall from Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) praised fire crews for their hard work.

He said: “This was a challenging fire to tackle. The blaze was very severe and access to the rear of the property was difficult. There were also concerns about two LPG cylinders stored in the caravan.

“However the swift actions of the initial crews helped prevent the incident escalating and spreading to the neighbouring property.”

He stressed that a working smoke alarm at the property also made a vital difference.

“An early alert from the smoke alarm meant that fire crews were quickly at the scene and were able to bring the elderly man safely out of the property. He and his wife were taken to hospital but are not expected to suffer any long term effects, which is great news. Equally, fire damage was restricted to their property only but this would have been a different story if the crews had not started firefighting action so rapidly.”

He urged everyone  to check their own smoke alarms are in working order.