Crews tackle accidental house fire caused by phone charger

Firefighters were called to an address on Milton Road, Sneyd Green, at around 5.50pm yesterday (Tuesday 5 April) following reports of a house fire.

Crews from Hanley, Newcastle and Sandyford attended as did paramedics and Staffordshire Police.

On arrival, crews found a fire in an upstairs bedroom at the property.

All persons were accounted for and no one was reported injured.

Three water pumps, a hose reel jet and one breathing apparatus were used to extinguish the fire.

A man in his 40s and two boys were treated by paramedics for smoke inhalation and taken to hospital for precautionary checks.

The fire was later deemed accidental as a result of a mobile phone charger being plugged in to an overloaded socket.

Crews made the area safe and left the scene at around 10.05pm yesterday (Tuesday 5 April).

Firefighters advise that in order to protect yourself and your home from the dangers of electrical fires, you should:

• Always use the official charger
• Ensure that you replace all damaged cables and chargers.
• Don’t overload your sockets
• Unplug appliances when you are going to bed or not using them
• Never use square box plug adapters, and if using a strip adapter/extension make sure it is fused and don’t overload it
• If using a cable drum extension lead, it should be completely unwound to avoid overheating.

For more safety advice, visit: Electrical safety (staffordshirefire.gov.uk).