Fire Officers are highlighting the importance of smoke alarms and fire safety procedures following a fire which gutted a family home in Bwlchgwyn last night.

The fire caused 95% damage to the property onWesley Road, and crews

fromJohnstown, Buckley and Llangollen as well as the Incident Command Unit from Rhyl were at the scene tackling the fire using breathing apparatus and hose reels after receiving the initial call at 18.36hrs yesterday, December 22.

The probable cause of the fire is likely to be electrical.

The family was alerted to the fire by the activation of a smoke alarm and all persons from the property were unhurt.

Tony Jones from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Fires are always devastating, but a family losing their home and contents just before Christmas is especially hard. We could have been dealing with a tragedy but thankfully no-one was hurt in the fire -the early activation of the smoke alarm allowed them to evacuate safely and remove themselves from the danger of the situation. This kind of incident clearly demonstrates the importance of working smoke alarms - they really could save your life and the lives of your loved ones.

"Due to the severity of the fire, it is not possible to pinpoint exactly what started the fire - however the probable cause is likely to be electrical.

"We attend around 470 accidental fires in dwellings each year and electricity or electrical items are responsible for over 300 of these fires.

"Around 90 of these fires are due to electrical faults - but the majority are caused by misuse of the electrical items. It's important to operate appliances according to the manufacturers' instructions and to check electrical items and leads for signs of damage or wear. So many residents use old or dangerous electrical items and overload their sockets, causing a potentially fatal fire risk.

"Switch off electrical appliances when not in use, unless they're designed to stay on and take special care with Christmas lights - always switch off and unplug Christmas lights before you go to bed. Christmas is a time when we use more electrical items such as lights and decorations as well games etc - don't overload sockets and plugs but use correctly fused multi gang safety leads. Please see the amp calculator on www.nwales-fireserfireservice / keeping you safe / looking after the electrics or follow this link /looking-after-the-electrics.aspx?lang=en."

For more advice on fire safety and for the opportunity to have free smoke alarms fitted in your home, please contact North Wales Fire and Rescue Service for a free home fire safety check.

To register, please call our free 24 hour hotline on 0800 169 1234 or visit www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk or text 88365, ensuring you prefix your message with the word HFSC.