Walsall family flee as fire breaks out in kitchen
A father and his two children escaped when a blaze broke out in the kitchen of their home.
The family was alerted by the sound of an explosion shortly after 4pm yesterday and found the base of the fridge on fire and the Walsall property filling with thick smoke. They ran next door to raise the alarm.
Firefighters spent three hours at the terraced house in Wells Avenue, Darlaston, carrying out checks after putting out the flames. The two neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution.
Investigators are still looking into the cause of the blaze which severely damaged the ground floor and smoke-logged the rest of the property.
Mother-of-three Gill Canadine, 49, who lives next door, took the family in.
She said: "He was panicking. He'd gone to investigate after hearing a bang in the kitchen, which was so loud we heard it in our house. He saw some flames behind the fridge and then suddenly it was everywhere."
Watch commander John Wildman said: "The fire may have been caused by an electrical fault, we don't know for sure at this stage."
