House fire tackled in Nettlebed

TWO women could have died if they had not discovered a fire at their home.

Firefighters were called to the three-storey farmhouse off the A4130 in Nettlebed at 10.17pm on Monday after the blaze in the basement.

A woman in her thirties and her mother were alerted by the smell of burning and left the property before raising the alarm.

Fire crews from Henley, Watlington and Didcot were called to the scene. Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus spent about 15 minutes tackling the fire in the basement, which was heavily smoke-logged. They found the fire had been started by an electrical fault, setting the fuse board alight before the flames spread to the surrounding wood beams.

Marcus Reay, Henley fire station manager, said: “This could have been a lot worse. With a fire in the basement you have potential for spread to the ground floor, which could have proved fatal. It would have been very difficult if we had got the call at 2am or 3am.”

Gary D’Anger, Kidlington fire station manager, said: “There was a lack of smoke alarms in the house so if the occupants had been sleeping it is likely the fire would have gone undetected and the consequences of this fire could have been far worse.

“Correctly fitted and working smoke alarms are vital in all properties to protect occupiers from the effects of fire.

“I would remind everyone how important it is to make sure your smoke alarms are in full working order by carrying out a weekly test to ensure the battery and internal components are still capable of sounding the alarm.”