Home safety visits following rural fire death

Reported by Karen Morley 19/01/2012

Free fire home safety visits will be carried out around Cowgill and Dent after a body was found in a blaze at a remote farmhouse.

Police were called at 11.26am on 9 January to a property in Cowgill, Sedbergh following reports of a sudden death after a house fire.

Enquiries are ongoing to formally identify the body but officers believe it is of an elderly male in his 80s. Police believe there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death at this time and are preparing a case for the Coroner. 

On arriving at the property emergency services found a fire had badly damaged a ground floor room of the house, which wasn’t fitted with smoke alarms.

By the time the alarm was raised the fire had burned out and police and firefighters are continuing investigations into the death.

Fire can be a particular danger in remote, rural locations given the time it takes emergency services to get there and due to the fact they are often old buildings not fitted with smoke alarms.  

So today Thursday January 19 Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service will be getting the fire safety message out to residents around Cowgill and Dent by visiting properties in the area to give advice and fit free smoke alarms in properties that require them.

Adrian Holme, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service’s Kendal Group Manager, said: "This is a tragic event and our thoughts are with the family. This incident has reiterated that fire can strike even in the most tranquil and remote areas such as Dentdale and we are encouraging the community to work with us to prevent such a tragedy occurring again.”

Every home in Cumbria is eligible to apply for a free home safety visit to help deal with any potential fire hazards.

The visits can include the designing of a fire plan so the occupiers will know what to do in the event of fire and the fitting, where applicable, of a battery powered smoke alarm free of charge.

This service for the residents of Cumbria, normally takes about 30 minutes. To arrange a visit call freephone: 0800 358 4777.