What a night!

[JoM]

We were just getting ready for bed around Midnight, I was getting washed and Tom came running into our bedroom and knocked on the door to say that something was going on at our neighbours' house - N and B who live two doors away, the family with the twin boys and a toddler - and that John had gone running out to see. I rushed downstairs and could hear smoke alarms and opened the back door to this awful burning smell. I went out onto the close and N was out with their toddler, who was screaming, and R and D who are joined onto them were with her. The kitchen was on fire. They'd all been in bed, the dogs woke them up with their barking and then the smoke alarms went off. I was handed a dog to hold and another neighbour had already taken the twins in so N took H over to sit with them as they had the Disney channel on for him to calm him down. One of the women from opposite us then came around the corner to see what was happening and said she'd got a fire extinguisher so she went back to get that and then John and B went in and put the fire out with it. It was the microwave that had gone up and it's burnt the cupboards above it.
And then the fire brigade showed up. They said their response time was 7 minutes for the first truck to arrive and the second came a few minutes after that which was a bit worrying as they're less than 2 miles away. The main thing is though that they're all safe, shaken and upset but safe.
I'm really paranoid about making sure things are switched off when we go to bed (and the boys get sick of me nagging) and I never leave the washing machine or dishwasher on overnight, or go out and leave them on, but I do leave the likes of the microwave on all of the time.
Oh, and the fella joined onto us is a fireman - he's in because his car was there but he couldn't have heard the commotion.
Just so glad our friends are okay!!

[Fugitive]

Glad everyone is safe. I leave all my power points switched on Jo- kettle, cooker, coffee machine, washing machine etc. Do you mean you turn all yours off on the walls and skirting boards then?

[Kaz]

I don't switch mine off at the plug either! I don't leave my tumble drier or washer going when I go out or to bed though, as I know that can be dangerous......Weren't people on Economy 7 tariff encouraged to do that though, when Economy 7 was in common usage?

Jo thank goodness nobody was hurt - I suppose 7 minutes is reasonable, I hadn't really given it much thought

[debih]

Glad everyone is okay Jo. How frightening.

I also leave all my sockets on.

[saundra]

very frightening tho
glad the family are ok
i leave everything on
but never use the washer unless im about
and switch tv off at night

[Lozzles]

What an awful experience! Thank goodness you and your family were there to help and that the smoke alarms were working. What a shock for the poor neighbours.

[Diflower]

What a shock for everyone Jo, thank goodness they were all ok.
It will be interesting to hear what's said about the microwave
We don't switch anything off at the sockets either, in fact I did that for a while with our old microwave, only switching it on to use it, and it was soon after that it stopped working so I figured it wasn't a good idea

[Kaz]

That's an interesting observation Di, our old one stopped working not long after B developed the habit of switching it off at the plug!

[miasmum]

It leaves you shaken too doesn't it? So glad everyone was ok.

I leave everything on at the plug too and I have always had cheaper electricity at night so have used my washing machine and dishwasher at night for 25 years, probably every night. I figure we have smoke alarms and the cats have a cat flap. Actually our latest tariff makes no difference and it feels really decadent to use it when I feel like it

I never (well almost never) leave my tumble drier on though, unless I am here with it.

[Weka]

Mum use to turn her washing machine off all the time, till she had the repair man out twice to replace the main board. He told her that turning it off was the cause.
She turns everything off though at the wall. Absolutely everything.

I hardly turn anything off. I won't run the dryer if we are asleep or out, but apart from that, I run the dishwasher and washing machine.

Tvs left on standby and not turned off at the button (separate to the switch) is one of the most common fire causes.