Tumble dryer fire in Ferndown ripped through terrace house

Twenty firefighters tackled the blaze at the height of the incident in Ferndown on Sunday afternoon.

All occupants of the property escaped unharmed although a pet cat died.

It is believed the incident was caused by a tumble dryer.

The fire service believes a resident in the property spotted the fire before a smoke alarm was triggered and was able to call 999.

Picture: Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Station manager Dan Perrett, who attended the incident, said: "We believe the cause of this fire to have been a tumble dryer in the kitchen.

"Due to the lack of internal doors the smoke, fire and heat was able to travel quickly, and the property has suffered serious damage.

"We believe the occupier noticed the fire before it was detected by the smoke alarm, escaped from the property and called 999.

"This action undoubtedly saved their lives. I would urge everyone to check they have working smoke alarms at home; these should be tested weekly.”

Picture: Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Fire crews from Ferndown and Redhill Park were called to reports of the house fire in Petwyn Close at 12.23pm on Sunday, February 13.

Once at the scene, firefighters found the fire had spread from the ground floor to the first floor of a terraced house.

Crews requested support and at the height of the incident, 20 firefighters were on scene from Ferndown, Redhill Park, Poole and Ringwood stations.

Four sets of breathing apparatus, two hose reel jets as well as other firefighting equipment were used to bring the fire under control.

Picture: Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The fire service said the entire ground floor and some of the first floor has been badly damaged by fire, heat and smoke.