House wrecked in freak sun, mirror and pot pourri fire (From The Argus)

House wrecked in freak sun, mirror and pot pourri fire

9:25am Thursday 2nd September 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(2)

A picturesque home was wrecked by a freak fire after sunlight reflected off a mirror and set some pot pourri alight.

Within minutes the bedroom on the first floor of the house in The Street, Bolney, near Haywards Heath, was ablaze, destroying pictures, jewellery and personal belongings.

Wendy Lambourne has been told by insurance assessors her £350,000 property, dating back to the 1800s, was uninhabitable.

The alarm was raised at 5.15pm on Tuesday after a passer-by heard a loud bang as the bedroom window cracked under the intense heat.

Regulars at the neighbouring Eight Bells pub broke down the front door and tried to put out the flames with fire extinguishers but were beaten back by thick smoke.

The first Mrs Lambourne knew about the fire was when she drove back into the village at about 5.30pm to see firefighters outside her house.

She said: “When I got back there were people lining the street outside my house and I wondered what had happened.

“A neighbour said ‘your house is on fire’ and my first reaction was complete shock and horror.

“I looked up at the bedroom window and there was smoke coming out of it.

“It has totally destroyed my bedroom, which contained photos, jewellery, bedding, clothes and personal effects.

“There are some things that are not burnt, but the rest is smoke-damaged.”

Mrs Lambourne has yet to file an insurance claim, but among the many irreplaceable possessions destroyed by the fire were pictures of her daughters’ graduations and photos of her two grandchildren, Faith and Daisy.

The downstairs of the property was severely smoke-damaged.

John Lainsbury, watch manager and incident commander at Haywards Heath Fire Station, said: “Although incidents such as this are rare, there have been a number of fires that are known to have started because of sunlight being refracted by mirrors or glass ornaments when the sun is low on the horizon.

“On this occasion the damage was limited to the bedroom where the fire started, but could easily have been a lot worse.

“We reiterate the importance of having working smoke alarms and making sure they are regularly checked and maintained.”

For free fire safety advice, call 01243 642878 or visit www.westsussex.gov.uk/fire.