DUBBO firefighter Chris Sanders has banned the use of electric blankets in his own home, and a big reason why he has done so made for frightening viewing at Dubbo Fire Station yesterday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Station Officer Sanders and colleagues showed the Daily Liberal an electric blanket brought into the station by a Dubbo resident that morning which was just seconds away from bursting into flames.
"It could absolutely have started a house fire," Station Officer Sanders said.
"By the time that smouldered away and a neighbour saw smoke, called us and we made our way there it would have been all over.”
Station Officer Sanders said the woman’s family was about to leave the house and at the last minute someone remembered the electric blanket was still turned on.
“When they went to turn it off they could smell the burning,” he said.
“As you can see, it’s burnt through a fitted sheet and blanket and a mattress cover.”
Station Officer Sanders said people often folded up their blankets at the end of winter and put them away for several months.
“The fact that the blanket has been folded at some stage and an internal coil has broken was an issue,” he said.
“What is particularly concerning is that people sometimes just take them out at the start of winter, throw them on a bed and turn them on.
“At the very least we would recommend that you take them somewhere like the garage, lay them out flat and try them first. Don’t put them directly on the bed. And definitely don’t leave them on while you’re asleep in bed.
“Thankfully this lady was vigilant and the blanket was turned off. It was a lucky catch. It could have been a lot worse.”
The blanket’s age was not necessarily a factor, he said, as the blanket in this case did not appear to be particularly old.
Station Officer Sanders said while most house fires started in the kitchen, in his many years as a firefighter he was aware of “plenty” of them that had been the result of electric blankets.
He said local firefighters were grateful the woman had brought the blanket and bedding in to show them, as they would make a valuable demonstration of the dangers associated with electric blankets.
“Sometimes if people have not had this sort of thing happen to them, if they haven’t had a fire at their house or known anyone who it has happened to, they can get complacent,” Station Officer Sanders said.
“Seeing this burnt bedding reinforces what can happen. We will definitely be using it at Seniors Week and other demonstrations so the message hits home.”
