16 January 2012
A resident of St John had a lucky escape in the early hours of Saturday morning when a garage fire spread to the bedroom he was sleeping in.
The blaze was the second early morning call out on Saturday for the Fire and Rescue Service, stretching immediate resources and putting retained crews on stand-by for Island-wide cover.
Unattended cooking was the cause of the first fire in Grands Vaux, shortly before 1.30am. The quick actions of residents meant that the building was evacuated and the fire extinguished by the time the crew arrived. One occupant was treated at the scene for burns and smoke inhalation and taken to the Accident and Emergency Department.
Shortly after returning to station the crew were called to the St John property just before 4am where a garage fire had spread through the roof and to the bedroom of the attached property. 2 Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the property to stop further spread into other rooms and the remaining crew tackled the blaze within the garage. The sound of the fire spreading into the bedroom woke the occupant just in time to get out safely.
Watch Commander Ryan Hall said "Although the occupants in both incidents were extremely lucky to have been woken by the fire neither had sufficient smoke detection to alert them sooner. Don't leave it to chance, a working smoke alarm will save your life."
gov.je