Firefighters tackled a house fire in High Wycombe yesterday (Thursday) evening, which is believed to have started when an electric heater ignited clothing.

Crews from High Wycombe and Beaconsfield raced to the scene in Walton Drive along with an officer at 6.32pm.

They used one hose reel, two sets of breathing apparatus and a PPV (positive pressure ventilation) fan to tackle the blaze, which was on the ground floor of the two-storey house.

It is not known if anyone was injured.

Bucks Fire issued safety advice about electric heaters following the incident:

  • Portable heaters should always be positioned at least a metre away from any combustible materials such as paper, curtains, furniture  or clothes, and well away from anything which could knock them over.”
  • Never leave portable heaters unattended.
  • Never leave them on when sleeping.
  • Regularly inspect your heater for damage. If it’s damaged, don’t use it.
  • Never buy second-hand halogen heaters.
  • Never power a halogen heater from an extension lead – these can easily be overloaded and cause fires.
  • Don’t sit or stand right next to portable heaters. The advice from Stoke Mandeville Hospital's Burns Unit is to be at a metre away from them.