Rhos-on-Sea man escapes chip pan fire

Feb 11 2010

A BOOKSHOP owner who escaped a chip pan blaze has spoken of his lucky escape.

Terrified Michael Pickard, 59, fled his ground floor apartment in Rhos-on-Sea last Tuesday afternoon after fire broke out when he left the cooker unattended.

The kitchen of the Mauldeth Road property was ruined by smoke and fire damage, but Michael, who runs a bookshop in Colwyn Bay, is just pleased to have survived.

North Wales Fire Service said there were no working smoke alarms in the property and urged residents to check them regularly to prevent incidents such as this.

Michael said: "It was terrifying. I had a very lucky escape.

"I left the chip pan for a minute when I went in the other room and then everything kicked off. The smoke spread and I had to get out.

"As the fire flashed towards the back door I had to try and get out through the front, which I managed to do.

"If I’d have tried to get out of the back door I’d probably not have made it out alive."

The alarm was raised by one of Michael’s neighbours, who kept him calm while the emergency services dealt with the incident. He was checked for the effects of smoke inhalation at the scene and did not require hospital treatment.

Michael, who also escaped a fire in London 30 years ago, added: "I’d like to thank them for their kindness and all of their help.

"My partner owns the property but she is not here at the moment.

"The kitchen is virtually destroyed and smoke spread to other rooms but otherwise it’s not too bad. I’m just glad I made it out of there."

Firefighters from Colwyn Bay were called out at around 5pm.

Justin Evans from North Wales Fire Service said: "There were no working smoke alarms in this property to give an early warning of fire.

"Luckily, the neighbour saw smoke issuing from the house and contacted the fire service. The occupant then made his own way outside and was assessed by paramedics.

"Smoke alarms give an early warning which allows occupants to escape quickly and safely in the event of fire. I’ve seen time after time that these simple devices really do save lives. There’s no excuse not to have one."

The service offers free home fire safety checks for all residents in North Wales. To register, call free on 0800 169 1234, visit nwales-fireservice.org.uk or text 88365, ensuring you prefix your message with the word HFSC.

Firefighters spent about three hours at a turreted hotel after smoke clogged part of the premises last Wednesday.

Alarms were triggered at Bryn Corach hotel on the Sychnant Pass Road, Conwy, after an electric fault created thick smoke in the hotel’s lighting system.

A team of four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus went in with a thermal imaging camera.

They discovered the electrical fault in a corridor and used two hose reels to tackle the minor fire. About five square metres of corridor was damaged but no one was hurt.

The hotel is currently closed for redecoration and was scheduled to reopen in March. Management said the fire had not caused any significant damage and the hotel should still reopen on time.