FIRE CREWS were called to a fire which started in the blocked flue of a gas boiler in St Margarets Avenue, Stanford-le-Hope.
Using one hose reel jet crews had extinguished the fire by 09:42hrs this morning (Monday January 27th).
The occupants had been alerted to a problem in their boiler by a carbon monoxide detector sounding at the weekend, but had chosen to ignore the alarm.
Station Officer Geoff Wheal said: “The alarm had gone off at the weekend and rather than taking action about the carbon monoxide leak they had removed the alarm instead. There was obviously something blocking the flue which caused the alarm to go off and today caused the fire in their boiler.
“It is never sensible to ignore a carbon monoxide detector when it is going off. Immediately turn the boiler off, ventilate the property and call the gas board. Taking the alarm out of the cupboard and ignoring the problem is the worst plan you could ever make.
“Carbon monoxide is a silent killer, it is colourless and odorless and can prove deadly if left unchecked. In this case they are probably lucky there was a fire, were it not for that their home would still be filling with deadly gas.
“Had they reacted properly when the alarm first went off they could have made sure they were safe in their home and prevented a fire in their boiler.”
