9:08am Thursday 18th March 2010
A FAMILY of five escaped but “were lucky to get out” after an electrical fire wrecked their house this morning.
Various pets at the three bed home in Wiltshire Road, Marlow, including spiders, two budgies and a cat were rescued by fire crews from High Wycombe and Marlow at about 3am.
A heating mat on a spider's tank was too close to other materials by the plug socket and overheated.
Crew Manager Andy Newell said: “There was no smoke alarm so they were lucky to get out.
“It was quite a severe fire upstairs and because they didn't have a fire plan it spread to the rest of the floor upstairs, it was highly smoke logged and damaged.
“There were no visible signs outside when we arrived the only signs were the blackened windows. When we opened the doors we confirmed there was a fire and the visibility was absolutely zero.”
The family were unharmed but a cat died.
The fire was extinguished in about 15 minutes but about a quarter of the upstairs part of the house was wrecked.
The family have been rehomed.
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