A MAN was said by the fire service to be devastated after he accidentally set fire to the kitchen of his house on the day he moved in.
Steven Roberts was moving his belongings into his mid-terraced house in Norwood Grove, Smithills, when he inadvertently turned the cooker on.
Mr Roberts, aged 41, had been piling things on top of the cooker and accidentally knocked the switch on.
He called the fire service, then made his way through the smoke-filled kitchen to reach the back door and get away.
Firefighters spent an hour containing the blaze. The kitchen and its contents were destroyed.
Fire chief Steve Parkinson said: "The man was devastated, but if he had had a smoke alarm he might have spotted the fire faster and prevented some of the damage.
"He was a bit silly going upstairs with a fire downstairs, but it's surprising how some people react in a fire. You can never predict it."
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