Fire crews rescue collapsed Telford pensioner from smoke-filled house
An elderly Telford man had to be rescued from his home after he collapsed following a grill fire.
Two fire crews from Wellington and one from Telford were called to a property in Chockleys Drive, Leegomery, at around 4pm yesterday.
Firefighters, wearing breathing apparatus, found an elderly man who had collapsed in the hallway.
He was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and transported to the Princess Royal Hospital.
A spokesman for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "A call was received from an alarm monitoring company to say an alarm was activated in a property they monitor.
"One fire engine from Wellington was sent straight away. On arrival the firefighters inspected the outside of the property and could see some smoke through the kitchen window.
"They looked into the letterbox and were faced with a strong smell of burning.
"The occupier had not been seen recently by his neighbours so the incident escalated and we sent two additional fire engines.
"When entering firefighters were faced with an elderly man collapsed in the hallway.
"They quickly rescued him. He was then seen to by an awaiting ambulance and transferred to the hospital."
The spokesman said the fire started due to some food under the grill, which resulted in smoke filling the house.
They said: "The smoke was coming from the kitchen and had filled the whole house.
"Firefighters found some unattended cooking that had been left under the grill. The property was ventilated using a positive pressure ventilation fan.
"Although no flames were present, the effects of smoke can be just as harmful.
"We advise all households to have a working smoke detectors and to test them regularly.
"Additionally, good practice such as not leaving any cooking unattended can reduce the chances of fires occurring in the home."
