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Nov 2022

Last Updated: 15/11/2022

Community

Harrogate district firefighters tackle four 'significant incidents' overnight

by John Plummer

| 15 Nov, 2022

In just over an hour, firefighters tackled a house fire in Harrogate, a pub fire in Knaresborough, extracted a man from a vehicle and dealt with a drunken car crash.

Harrogate district firefighters tackled four "significant incidents" in the space of just over an hour last night.

Two fire engines from Harrogate were mobilised, along with appliances from Knaresborough, Ripon, Boroughbridge and Summerbridge.

The number of overnight fire engines at Harrogate is due to be reduced from two to one under plans by North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe.

Firstly, crews from Harrogate and Knaresborough were called to a fire in the basement of a pub at Bond End, Knaresborough at 2.24am.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service's incident log said:

"This was caused by spontaneous combustion of warm laundry in a basket and caused fire damage to the laundry only, there was smoke damage to the entire property.

"Crews used four breathing apparatus, one hose reel jet, a thermal imaging camera and a positive pressure ventilation fan to extinguish the fire."

Because Harrogate and Knaresborough firefighters were still dealing with this, crews from Ripon and Boroughbridge had to be drafted in at 2.58pm to a house fire on St Leonard's Road in Harrogate caused by an electric heater which was too close to combustible materials.

One man had got out of the property by the time they arrived thanks to the smoke alarm going off. The incident log said:

"Crews used four breathing apparatus, one hose reel jet, thermal imaging camera and a backpack sprayer to extinguish the fire which was caused by an electric heater too close to combustible materials."

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The firefighters' night was far from over.

At 3.11am, firefighters from Harrogate and Summerbridge used hydraulic cutting equipment to extract a man from his car following a single vehicle crash on the B6161 at Beckwithshaw.

Then at 3.38am, an officer and a crew from Knaresborough attended a single vehicle crash on the B6161 at Leathley. A man, believed to be drunk, had broken his nose and was out of the vehicle where he was left in the hands of police.

A Harrogate Fire Station spokesperson said:

"Fire crews in the Harrogate district last night had four significant incidents all at the same time.

"Resources were stretched but able to assist in all incidents."

The spokesperson said "smoke alarms really do save lives" and the fire caused by the electric heater "is not unique". They added:

"Firefighters nationwide are warning of the increased risk of fire due to unsafe use of electric heaters as people try to keep down costs during the winter."

Safety advice from Electrical Safety First if you have an electric heater

Ensure the device is on a level surface, well away from anything or anyone that could knock it over

Ensure it is is well away from combustible materials, such as paper, furniture or curtains

Ensure it is never used to dry clothes

Ensure it is never left unattended for long periods while in use, or while you are asleep

Don't use an extension lead to power a heater as they can easily be overloaded

Regularly inspect the heater for damage and deterioration

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Harrogate district firefighters tackle four 'significant incidents' overnight

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Safety advice from Electrical Safety First if you have an electric heater