BREAKING NEWS: House damaged in Chinnor after wheelie bin fire

A fire started by hot ash put in a wheelie bin has damaged a house in Chinnor this morning.
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The fire broke out in the early hours of this morning after ash from a bonfire had been left smouldering in a bin in Beech Road.

Prompt action by the householder managed to see the fire contained before a crew from Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service based in Thame were called just before 6am.

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The firefighters found three wheelie bins on fire, which had spread to a wooden fence and damaged the outside of the house.

The occupier had been alerted by a noise outside, went outside to investigate and managed to reduce the spread of fire using a garden hose. This meant that firefighters could fully extinguish the fire and using a thermal imaging camera check that it had not spread into the roof of the house.

The fire was caused by hot ash from a bonfire that had been put in the plastic wheelie bin the previous day and after smouldering for some time it eventually set alight the rubbish in the bin and spread quickly.

Incident commander, watch manager Andy Ford said: “This incident has highlighted the danger of disposing of embers from a bonfire or barbecue before they have completely cooled down. Fortunately, on this occasion the occupiers were alerted by the noise and were able to call the Fire and Rescue Service. If left unattended the fire could have spread into the house whilst the occupiers were asleep.”

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Countryside Fire and Barbecue safety tips can be found on the www.365alive

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