Chimney fires spark plea from firefighters

CHIMNEY fires in East Grinstead and Copthorne were among 15 tackled by West Sussex crews in four days.

In Holtye Road, firefighters battled for four hours to control the blaze. The difficult access meant the team had to call for the technical rescue unit from Horley - recently back from duty in Haiti - to climb the chimney stack.

The sudden increase in chimney fires - between Thursday last week and Sunday - has sparked a plea from West Sussex Fire and Rescue for householders to follow safety guidelines.

At one incident in the county, five appliances attended to deal with a roof fire caused by heat from a chimney flue.

Peter Evans, WSCC cabinet member for public protection, said that as the cold weather continued "open fires are a cosy way to keep warm".

But he warned: "Unless safety guidelines are followed, they can quickly become a serious fire hazard."

Community fire safety officer Jackie Boyle said anyone using wood burners or open fires should have their chimneys checked and professionally swept.

Chimneys should be lined and properly insulated and a fire guard should be in place to stop embers being thrown from the fire onto a carpet or rug.

"The consequences of a chimney fire can be devastating," she said.

The fire and rescue service has issued 10 essential safeguards. They include having the chimney swept at least once a year, dousing the fire before going to bed and making sure smoke alarms are working properly.

Crews from Forest Row Fire Station were called out to three chimney fires in as many days over the weekend.

The first, which took more than two hours to extinguish, occurred on Friday at 9.40pm in Sandy Lane, Coleman's Hatch.

The following night, at 8.45pm, firefighters from Uckfield helped to tackle a blaze at a cottage in London Road, Danehill.

Finally, on Sunday shortly after 2.30pm, crews attended a chimney fire in Priory Road, Forest Row, which took nearly two hours to put out.

Forest Row Fire Station watch manager Iain Franks stressed that property owners should have their chimneys swept at least once a year.

He added: "It may be necessary to increase that amount if the chimney is in use more than usual, which is likely to have been the case with all the extreme weather conditions we have experienced this year."