‘70% burns’ sustained by woman after cigarette sets sofa on fire
An elderly lady was rushed to hospital by air ambulance after she suffered serious burns after a cigarette set fire to her sofa.
Firefighters attended the incident in Castle Dene Court in Jewell Road in Bournemouth on the morning of Saturday 29th September.
The woman was rescued from the sheltered housing accommodation property and transferred to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. She was later transferred to Salisbury District Hospital where there is a specialist burns facility.
Many other residents of the block were evacuated during the incident but were later allowed to return to their homes.
One neighbour who witnessed the incident said: “I heard the alarm and smelt the smoke. The firefighters were with her by the window where she was getting some air and she was taken out on a stretcher. I heard she had 70 per cent burns.”
A second witness, Len Jordan, aged 72 said: “I looked out my door because the fire alarm went off and saw the firemen. They asked us to get out. I had my dressing gown and slippers on outside.”
Fire crews from Redhill, Springbourne and Christchurch attended the incident and took around an hour to fully extinguish the fire. Furniture was destroyed in the fire and the property suffered a large amount of smoke damage.
A spokesperson for Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said: “Crews were called to alarms at a flat in Townsend where they found an elderly woman with burns and a fire in her lounge. The crews immediately and effectively dealt with the fire and rendered first aid to the occupant before medical attention was administered by the ambulance crew. The fire is believed to have started by smoking materials and we would like to remind people of the need to safely dispose of cigarettes and ensure they have working alarms.”