12 December 2008

Sir Terry Wogan passed on vital safety messages during his Radio 2 show this morning following a fire at his Buckinghamshire home.

He also told listeners that if it wasn’t for his smoke alarms he would have been “burned to a crisp”.

Crews from Beaconsfield and Maidenhead were called to his house in Taplow late on Tuesday evening after his tumble dryer caught fire.

Sir Terry publicly thanked the two fire services on his show the following morning - and followed it up today by broadcasting some key fire safety tips sent to him by Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service.

He said: “This is a kind of public service announcement but I’m delighted to do it because, as you may have read in the papers, I’ve smelt like a smoked haddock for the past two days.

“Indeed, the house still has the whiff of danger about it because we went up in smoke a couple of nights ago.

“Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service and Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service were with us within 10 minutes and they did an absolutely brilliant job.

“They are never appreciated, these good people in the fire service, until something goes wrong.”

Moving on to the fire safety advice, he said: “It is important to check that the smoke alarms are working. You push the test button once a week if you’ve got a smoke alarm.

“I tell you, if we didn’t have a smoke alarm, I would have been burned to a crisp.

“Keep your internal doors closed because that reduces the speed at which a fire can spread. Don’t open the door if you think there’s a fire in the room."

Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service's Assistant Chief Officer, Bryan Dugdale, said: “We would like to thank Sir Terry for broadcasting this vital fire safety information to his millions of listeners just before a particularly high-risk period for fires. We hope life is getting back to normal in the Wogan household following the fire.”

Watch Manager Trevor Sheeran from Beaconsfield Fire Station, who attended the incident, said: “The fire safety precautions were excellent and prevented the fire from escalating. The tumble dryer was in a room with the door shut, and smoke percolating through the gap between the door and the door frame set off the smoke alarm.”

Firefighters used two sets of breathing apparatus, two hose reels and a Positive Pressure Ventilation fan.

Don't have a smoke alarm? Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service offers free home fire risk checks to identify potential fire risks and advise what to do to reduce or prevent them. To find out more, ring 01296 744477, send an email to cs@bucksfire.gov.uk or fill in the online form.

Click here to find out more about the national Pull Your Finger Out smoke alarm maintenance campaign.

Click here for tumble dryer, dishwasher and washing machine fire safety advice.