7:00am Saturday 2nd January 2010
A FIREWORK set off to mark the start of the New Year sparked a massive blaze at a house while a family slept.
It meant the Winward family started 2010 in the worst possible way after waking to discover the fire destroying their roof.
Ian Winward, his wife Sheila and daughter Kelly escaped uninjured after being woken up by a loud explosion at about 6am yesterday morning.
It is believed that a stray firework, probably from a nearby New Year’s celebration, had landed in the gutter of the house in Stanley Close, Westhoughton, and set fire to felt on the roof. The blaze spread quickly and filled the house with smoke.
Mr Winward said: “We were in bed and were awoken by this bang and Kelly raised the alarm.
“We could see sparks coming past the window from the roof, so we got out as quickly as we could.It is absolutely devastating — the worst possible start to 2010. My wife is distraught and we are not sure how much damage has been done yet.
“The whole of the roof has gone and the ceilings have come down, so we will probably have to stay in a hotel for a night or two.”
The family also rescued their pets from the house — two guinea pigs and two bearded dragon lizards.
Mr Winward, who works for the Prison Service, praised Kelly, aged 23, who raised the alarm.
He said: “I am very proud of her, she did very well.
“I think the fact that we were so quick to get out and call the fire brigade probably restricted the damage.
“The firefighters were also here very quickly and I cannot fault them at all.”
The roof of a neighbouring house was also damaged by the blaze and firefighters spent nearly six hours at the scene.
Station commander Tim Greenwood, from Eccles fire station, confirmed that a firework was the most likely cause of the fire after neighbours heard loud “whooshing” sounds minutes before the blaze. He said: “We found the remains of the rocket in the guttering and it looks like, because of the ice, the heat has travelled up and caught the under-felt in the roof. “That has then spread into the loft which, like most people’s lofts, contained plenty of flammable materials.”
andrew.greaves@ theboltonnews.co.uk
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