Family escape blaze after firework put through letterbox (From Basildon Recorder)

Family escape blaze after firework put through letterbox

2:30pm Tuesday 21st July 2009 in Echo News

A MUM and her four daughters had a lucky escape after a firework was shoved through their letterbox.

The family were woken by the sound of the firework going off in their house, in Sandon Road, Basildon, in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The firework started a blaze in the hallway of their home, after it set light a curtain behind the door.

Firefighters were called by a neighbour, who was woken up by the noise.

Station officer Evan Jellis, from Basildon fire station, praised the family for containing the fire and getting out as quickly as they could.

He said: “They were just leaving the property through the back door as we arrived.

“They had shut the door through to the hallway to stop the fire spreading, which is the sensible thing to do in these situations.”

The flames did not spread to the rest of the house and it took firefighters ten minutes to put out the blaze. Station officer Jellis said: “A curtain behind the door was probably the main cause of the fire.

“There was a bit of smoke and a little damage to the skirting board.”

Helen Cook, a spokeswoman for Essex Police, said police were investigating the incident after officers were called to the scene shortly after 2am.

She appealed to anyone with information to call Essex Police on 0300 3334444.