9:56pm Sunday 5th July 2009
By James Calnan
A MUM evacuated two daughters from their Colchester home following a bedroom fire.
Annette Kelly had already extinguished a fire on her daughter's bed, which was believed to have been caused by a faulty phone charger.
But two Colchester fire crews were called to the house in James Wick Court, Balkerne Heights, at around 9.15pm on Sunday after it caught fire again and set alight the bed.
Ms Kelly, her son and two of her daughters were outside when they saw smoke coming out of the bedroom window, but she rushed in to get her other two daughters out of the house.
She said they planned to stay with a friend overnight, before contacting her housing association in the morning.
Eldest daughter Naomi Hare, 16, was outside when the fire started but suffered from an epileptic fit caused by shock and was treated at the scene.
Station Officer Joe Hassell said the fire had been contained to the bedroom.
He said: "We sent two firefighters in with breathing apparatus and a thermal imaging camera with a hosereel and they quickly extinguised the fire in one of the bedrooms.
"We always suggest people don't leave anything plugged in and close all doors, so if there was a fire, it stays in the room of origin."
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/trade_directory/