Firefighters rescue three people from house fire – Dagenham

Firefighters rescued a child and two adults from a fire at a house on Rugby Road in Dagenham.

Part of the ground floor of an end-of-terrace house was damaged by fire.

Station Officer Alan Furlong, who was at the scene, said: “On the way to the fire, the Brigade’s 999 Control Officers gave vital fire survival guidance to three people who were inside the house on how to keep safe before we arrived.

“On arrival, we were faced with heavy smoke coming from the first floor of the house and could see three people at a first floor bedroom window.

“We pitched a short extension ladder to the first floor and carried a child down the ladder to safety. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus rescued a further man and a woman via the ladder. They were all taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service Crews.

“Crews worked incredibly hard to get the residents out of the building as quickly as possible. The house was very heavily smoke logged and we made sure that alternative accommodation was arranged for the family.”

The Brigade’s Fire Investigators believe the fire was caused by the failure of lithium ion batteries within a laptop. Lithium-ions batteries are found in many electrical devices such as tablets and phones. It’s really important to charge them properly to reduce the risk of fire.

Firefighter safety tips for charging your device

• Always use the charger that came with your phone, tablet, e-cigarette or mobile device.
• If you need to buy a replacement, always choose a branded, genuine product from a supplier you can trust. There are lots of fakes out there, and it can be difficult to spot the difference.
• Avoid storing, using or charging batteries at very high or low temperatures.
• Protect batteries against being damaged – that's crushed, punctured or immersed in water.
• Don’t leave items continuously on charge after the charge cycle is complete – it's best not to leave your phone plugged in overnight for example.
• Never cover chargers or charging devices – that includes using your laptop power lead in bed.

The Brigade was called at 0031 and the fire was under control by 0122. Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters from Dagenham, Ilford and Barking fire stations attended the scene.