A Shropshire man fled his burning historic home today after being woken as flames spread through his dining room.
Stephen Tongue says a newly-installed fire alarm saved his life after alerting him to the 7am blaze at his 400-year-old timber-framed home in Ludlow. Mr Tongue fitted the smoke detector three months ago following a safety drive by Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.
And today he was thankful after a fire broke in the living room of the 17th century property at 103 Corve Street.
Mr Tongue, who has been restoring the house for the last six years, said: “If it had not been for the fire alarm I could have died and the house could have burned to the ground.”
The fire started at around 7am when a spark from the Inglenook fireplace ignited wooden panelling on the other side of the wall.
Mr Tongue, 57, said: “I was woken by the sound of the alarm. At first I thought it was outside but when I came out into the hallway it was filled with smoke and I knew something was wrong.
“I rushed downstairs in to the living room where I had had a fire the night before and there was nothing. But then I went into the dining room on the other side and there were flames about three feet high up the wall.”
Mr Tongue, who lives at the property with his 18-year-old son Peter, made attempts to extinguish the blaze before calling the fire service.
Divisional Officer Mike Ablitt, of Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service, said that the timber structure could well have “burned to the ground” if the alarm had not been raised in time.
He said: “If it were not for the rural campaign we have launched throughout Shropshire to fit working smoke alarms into people’s homes then this historic building could have been lost. The owner was woken up by our smoke alarm. Flames had spread to the roof and were licking through the roof space into the next room.”
Mr Tongue said it was fortunate that the fire had caused minimal damage to the Grade II listed building – one of the most photographed homes in the town.
Mr Tongue moved to Ludlow 10 years ago from New Zealand to refurbish two neighbouring Tudor cottages in Corve Street.
by Sally Jones and Andy Richardson
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