Poison fumes alert as bleach is left on stove

Hazardous materials response unit ventilates fume-filled Newbury home

FIREFIGHTERS today made safe a Newbury home filled with bleach fumes.

They were called to the potentially dangerous chemical incident in Newbury at 3.10pm today.

Spokeswoman for Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Nicole Targett, said: "Someone had left the bleach on a hob which had been left on for 20 minutes.

"It began smoking so they did the sensible thing and called us."

She added: "The hazardous materials response unit based at Whitley Wood and also an appliance from Newbury attended."

The incident happened in Craven Road and the occupants were advised to evacuate the building for their safety.

Ms Targett added: "There was a small fire in the kitchen of the ground floor flat but it was smoke-logged and there had been a bleach spillage.

"The crews, advised by a hazardous materials officer, cleared the spillage and ventilated the home.

The ambulance service was also on stand-by in case of any ill effects caused by fumes but no one was hurt.

Emergency services left the scene at 3.40pm