Wigan firefighters issue fresh safety warning after another home's chimney burst into flames

Crews from Hindley and Leigh fire stations went to a home in Hindley Road, Daisy Hill, Westhoughton, after a passer-by spotted flames coming out of its chimney and informed the oblivious occupant.

Using special hoses the firefighters took two hours to tackle the incident, reported at 8.45pm on Thursday December 1, which only caused smoke-logging to the loft.

It is the second local incident involving a flue fire in less than a month.

In early November crews dealt with a blaze at a house in Argyle Street, Atherton, which filled several rooms with smoke.

Leigh fire station watch manager Mike Fairhurst said: “People with open fires and log burners need to get chimneys swept and use the proper materials as fuel.

"Over time soot and other substances such as resin from burning wood can accumulate inside the chimney and eventually it can catch fire.

"There had been such an accumulation in this case. Thankfully there was little damage but these kinds of incidents can be time-consuming for crews.

"We use special hoses that can be lowered down or pushed up with chimney rods and the water is delivered slowly. In this case we were there for two hours.”