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A LOCAL family are urging people to be more aware of fire hazards, after their home was destroyed by a blaze caused by a malfunctioning mobile phone charger.
The Walters family from Newtownstewart have been left homeless following the conflagration, which occurred in the early hours of Friday morning. All told, three fire appliance attended the scene.
Speaking to the Tyrone Herald, distraught mum, Amanda Walters explained that the mobile phone charger, which had been left switched on at the wall, actually exploded.
“I was getting ready to go to bed when I heard a bang, like a thud. I thought one of the girls dropped something – I thought nothing of it,” she recounted.
However, Amanda was only alerted to the fire when her daughter rushed out of her room, shouting.
She continued, “My daughter ran out of her bedroom shouting that the house was on fire.”
But by then it was already too late and the family home was going up in flames.
“Our home lit up right away,” Amanda added. “After the charger exploded, the fire spread nearly instantly.” As well as losing their home to the blaze, the Walters have also lost all their worldly possessions.
Amanda’s husband, Freddie is appealing for other people to be more aware of switching off and unplugging devices when they are not in use.
“We want other families to be aware how easily this can happen to anybody,” he said.
“Switch things off and take plugs out of sockets when you’re finished with them.
“It could happen to anybody; it was only one plug in one socket. It was a genuine Apple cable and plug, not a cheaper version,” he added.
Family and friends have rallied to help the Walters get back on their feet, following the blaze, with one friend, Amanda McConomy, setting up a GoFundMe page.
To donate, click https://gofund.me/b0874c90
Confirming the incident, a spokesperson from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service stated, “Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus, used two hose reels to extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire is believed to be accidental ignition and the incident was dealt with by 2.43am.”