FIREFIGHTERS were called to a house in Wickford after the elderly resident was alerted by their smoke alarm to a fire on the first floor of the property.

When fire crews arrived at the home on Monday, 17 April just after midday they saw smoke coming from an upstairs bedroom and found the bed alight and discovered that the fire had been started by an old electric blanket that was turned on.

Thanks to the working smoke alarm alerted the resident, and the quick response from the firefighters, the fire was contained to the one bedroom.

Watch Manager Andy Smith, Wickford Fire Station, said: "This fire could have destroyed the whole house if the resident wasn't alerted at the earliest opportunity by their working smoke alarm.

Warning after fault led to blaze.

"This fire should serve as a stark reminder to everyone living in Essex that smoke alarms really are important, and if you don't have any then you should get some today.

"They can be easily picked up at most supermarkets and DIY stores.

"This fire was started by an electric blanket. Firefighters examined the blanket and found that it was most certainly more than 10 years old and as a general rule we don't advise anyone uses an electric blanket that is more than 10 years old unless it have had a professional check it.

"Even if it hasn't been used regulary, simply storing an electric blanket can cause it damage and make it unsafe to use."