14 December 2007

The cause of a small fire in Amersham yesterday has been put down to the sun’s rays reflecting off a mirror.

Crews from Amersham and Beaconsfield were called to a house in Pomeroy Close at 12.06pm after the occupant noticed smoke and the smell of burning in a bedroom.

Watch Manager Dave Miller from Amersham Fire Station said: “A small area of a picture frame on top of a cardboard box had started to burn.

“On closer inspection, we realised it had been caused by sunlight reflecting off a make-up mirror on the bedroom floor and being magnified on to the picture frame.

“I have only known something this happen on one other occasion in my 25 years with the fire service.

“It requires so many variables to fall into place, including the angle of the sun and the positioning of the combustible items.”

Firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to search for hotspots.

About 12 years ago, a bedroom at a house in Gerrards Cross was badly damaged when a mirror on a window sill focused the sun’s rays on to a curtain, causing a fire.

Nationally, a number of house fires are known to have started because of sunlight being refracted by decorative “bottle effect” windows, and many grass fires are known to have started because of the sun’s rays being magnified off broken bottles.

Terry Ridgley, head of Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service's community safety team, is advising people to take extra care, particularly with convex and concave shaving or make-up mirrors, while the sun is low on the horizon.

He said: "Keep them out of contact with direct sunlight, and never put them on window sills."

If you would like Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service to carry out a free assessment of the fire risks in your home, and fit free smoke alarms where necessary, ring the Home Fire Risk Check hotline on 01296 744477 or send an email to cs@bucksfire.gov.uk