Candle starts blaze in teenager Lauren Howard's bedroom in Hersden
Damage after the bedroom
fire in Hersden
by Jamie Bullen
A teenage girl sent her bedroom up in
flames last night after leaving a scented candle burning on a chest
of drawers.
The accidental blaze is believed to
have been sparked when the candle fell into a drawer filled with
clothes.
Lauren Howard, 14, had left the candle
– given to her as a present - burning in her room in Larch Close,
Hersden.
The blaze set off the smoke alarm and
fire crews raced to the house shortly before 7pm.
Lauren, her mum Rachael Fagg, stepdad
John and nine-year-old brother Joshua all managed to get out of the
house before firefighters arrived.
Crews managed to contain the flames
within Lauren's bedroom, which suffered severe smoke damage.
Rachael, 42, said: "She came down
screaming 'mum, mum, my bedroom is on fire!'.
"Luckily everyone was fine and we got
out quickly. The fire crews were very quick and our neighbours were
wonderful, keeping us going with hot chocolates until we got back
in.
"I suppose if we had left it could
have been much worse. We are now getting in touch with our
insurers.
"Lauren is devastated about what
happened. It was an accident and she won't be doing it again."
In a statement, Kent Fire and Rescue
Service said: "We remind everyone to always be careful when using
candles, to never use them near flammable materials or to leave
them unattended.
"This is also a timely reminder about
how essential a working smoke alarm is."
29/11/12
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