AN ELDERLY couple escaped a fire in their home believed to have been started by a faulty immersion heater.
Firefighters who put out the blaze thought it spread from a defective heater that set fire to towels and clothing in an airing cupboard.
The couple, from Benson Road, Abingdon, were alerted by a smoke alarm at 8.30pm on Tuesday. They left the house and called the fire brigade.
Two crews from Abingdon tackled the blaze wearing breathing apparatus.
The fire was contained in the airing cupboard but there was heavy smoke damage across the first floor.
Crew manager Neil Priestley said “This is another example of when a smoke alarm has saved lives. If the airing cupboard had been empty the fire might not have spread, but the clothes were not the initial cause of the fire.”
He said fires caused by immersion heaters were rare.
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