Warning after five house fires in a fortnight

And now watch commander Darren Hague has urged people to be more aware of potential hazards in their homes.

A family and their nine-week-old son had to flee for their lives after a blaze destroyed their home on South Street, Havercroft, on Tuesday, June 9.

And another a man was rushed to hospital with burns after a bedroom fire on Hollygarth Court, Hemsworth, the next day.

Mr Hague, watch commander at South Kirkby Fire Station, said: “These weren’t just pan fires but fires which have seriously affected people’s lives and displaced family’s from their homes.

“We don’t expect to get this many serious fires in 12 months never mind two weeks. They cause real trauma for families and quite a few have not had insurance and lost everything.”

Mr Hague said common causes for house fires included overloading power sockets and leaving items of clothing near plugs.

And he also warned his team are now covering a wider area after relocating to South Kirkby Fire Station on South Kirkby Business Park in January. The facility replaced South Elmsall Fire Station and Hemsworth Fire Station.

The new station is staffed by a total of 13 firefighters, compared to 24 at South Elmsall and eight staff were retained from Hemsworth.

Mr Hague said: “We have half the staff and are covering twice the area. These last few weeks have been very busy for us. This is why we want to highlight the potential dangers and want people to be extra careful to prevent their houses being at risk of a fire.”

For information about fire prevention onto www.westyorksfire.gov.uk