South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue
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Electrical fire warning following desk lamp fire

On Friday 4 August at 10:34pm, our crews attended an incident on Bellbank Way, Athersley in Barnsley.

Firefighters from Barnsley, Cudworth and Tankersley stations arrived at the scene to find a desk lamp that had ignited as a result of being covered with clothing.

Luckily the fire had been extinguished upon our arrival reducing fire damage, but the property was heavily smoke logged.

Positive Pressure Ventilation equipment was used to clear the smoke.

The cause of the fire is believed to have been accidental.

Crews left the scene at 11:55pm.

To prevent electrical fires happening, particularly at night, key steps include:

  • Switch off cookers, washing machines, heaters, laptops, lamps and other electrical appliances, unless they are meant to be left on, like fridges and freezers
  • Keep all electrical appliances uncovered from items such as clothing and bags, even when switched off
  • Unplug mobile phones, tablets, e-cigarettes and other types of charger- never leave them to charge overnight
  • Make sure candles are put out– never leave a lit candle unattended
  • Close internal doors, especially downstairs. If a fire does start, this stops it from spreading as fast
  • If you have a mobile phone, take it to bed with you. Call 999 in an emergency

This content was last updated on August 09th, 2017