Northampton man urges smoke alarm tests after devastating house fire
Adam Harkin says if his smoke alarm didn't go off, he could have been trapped after a fire broke out at his home.
A Northampton man is urging others to test their smoke alarms after a devastating house fire.
Last month on Sunday September 7th the alarm alerted Adam Harkin to what's thought to have been an electrical fire in his inbuilt fridge freezer.
He had only just woken up to make a coffee and let his dogs out when smoke started coming from the appliance and the alarm began to sound.
Adam says if it hadn't been in working condition, he may not have noticed it, and been able to get his family and pets out safely and call Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service:
"If it didn't smoke alarm sound I would have been trapped upstairs because obviously the smoke would have gone upwards to start with. It's a terraced house I live in as well, so there's one way in and one way out. So I would have been trapped upstairs."
Adam says crews arrived swiftly after his call, to his home in Glasgow Street, Northampton, and used breathing apparatus and a hose to put the fire out.
Sadly, despite the best efforts of all involved, his home has been left with significant fire damage.
Adam said it was lucky he had just woken up before it all happened, and that his alarms had sounded, or it could have been a different story.
Despite being honest about how often he used to check them, he is now using what happened to him as an example to others to regularly check smoke alarms:
"I only probably really test it when it starts beeping and you've got to replace the battery and it does that annoying beeping sound.
"That's probably the only time I test it, but obviously moving forward now it's something I'm going to be doing quite regularly. They fire service advise monthly. I will be doing that definitely."
Adam and his wife and pets are currently in alternative accommodation and he says the experience has had a lasting affect on them both:
" I'm paranoid now with just cooking. Like, I don't like leaving the oven. My wife she even said that a fire alarm went off in her office the other day. But they had they'd already had a drill like the week before. So everyone's like, oh, no, this is serious."
He says the Fire Service and his neighbours have been wonderfully supportive after the incident, and he's glad everyone got out safely.
Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service say as well as maintaining your smoke alarm, you can also contact them through their website do arrange a free Home Fire Safety Visit to give you peace of mind.