Fire Service door to door visits after fatal fire

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service will knock on doors tomorrow (Friday, January 15) to reassure the community following a fatal fire on Sunday.

Due to weather warnings in place for today (January 14),  when the door knocking was initially scheduled, the team had to delay their visit.

The community safety team will be in the area around Blacklands Close, Saffron Walden, to offer safety advice and will provide smoke alarms for free to anyone who needs them.

The fire on Blacklands Close led to a man sadly dying in his home. Emergency services were alerted by a neighbour. When they arrived the building was alight. The roof collapsed. The cause of the fire is still being investigated but is not being treated as suspicious.

A man died following an unexplained house fire in Blacklands Close, Saffron Walden. - Credit: Saffron Walden Fire Station

Fire Service staff will be wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and will follow Government social distancing guidelines while they provide home fire safety advice.

Nick Singleton, operational and community risk manager for North Essex, said: “We want every home in Essex to benefit from working smoke alarms and will provide them for free to any home without them.

"If you or someone you know doesn’t have working smoke alarms on every level of their home, you can arrange a free visit from our home fire safety team, who can deliver smoke alarms to you while following government guidance to keep everyone safe."

If you are not a Blacklands Close neighbour, but want the fire service to talk about fire safety measures, make an appointment via this link  essex-fire.gov.uk/book.