Crews tackle accidental church fire

Firefighters have attended a fire at a church in South Staffordshire which started accidentally.

Crews were called at 9.35am on Thursday (10 March) to the Methodist Church in Brewood following reports of an electrical fire.

Firefighters from Penkridge and Cannock attended alongside officers from Staffordshire Police.

Heavy smoke was present inside of the building and two breathing apparatus along with one hose reel jet and a dry powder device were used to dampen the remnants of a heavily burned electrical board inside of a store cupboard.

No one was hurt.

The fire was deemed to be as a result of an accidental ignition.

Crews made the area safe and departed the scene shortly after 2pm.

Faulty electricity appliances cause approximately 7,000 fires across Staffordshire every year.

To ensure your appliances are safe to use, consider the following steps:

• Never use square box plug adapters, and if using a strip adapter/extension make sure it’s fused and don’t overload it.
• Ensure that you replace all damaged cables and chargers.
• Make sure all electrical appliances have a British or European safety mark when you buy them.

For more information on electrical safety, visit: Electrical safety (staffordshirefire.gov.uk)