Firefighters warn the public of the dangers of electrical appliances, following an incident at Denbigh.

Crews from Denbigh were mobilised to the incident on Lon Fammau in Denbigh at 05.09 hours in the early hours of Thursday morning (22nd January).  Crews used two hose reel jets, two breathing apparatus, and a thermal imaging camera in tackling the incident.

The fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical short circuit in a washing appliance, and was confined to the detached domestic garage.

Gwyn Jones, Community Safety Manager, said: "The owners of the property were extremely lucky due to the firefighter's timely attendance to stop any further damage. Having said that, there was significant heat and smoke damage to the external building, which did spread to the family home causing slight heat damage to guttering and windows.

"Electrical fires present a real risk to homeowners, often resulting in significant damage to property and sometimes with the most tragic consequences, as we have witnessed in the past

"The majority of electrical fires are caused by misuse of the electrical items. It's important to operate appliances according to the manufacturers' instructions, to check items and leads for signs of damage or wear, not use old or dangerous electrical items and never overload their sockets, as they could cause a potentially fatal fire risk.

"Always remember to switch off all appliances before you go to bed - if a fire starts when you are asleep you may never wake up.

"Electrical fires can happen to anyone, anywhere so our advice is to get prepared and stay safe - follow the tips on our website to avoid unnecessary risk.

"Smoke alarms are the single most effective step that anyone can take to protect themselves from fire in the home - yet it is still a fact that around 20% of incidents we are called to reveal homes that do not have a working smoke alarm."

For a free home fire safety check, where new smoke alarms will be fitted where needed totally free of charge, please call the 24 hour hotline on 0800 169 1234, or visit www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk.