'Bad parking puts lives at risk': Warning after firefighters held up getting to Witham house fire
A woman was trapped upstairs during the blaze
"Bad parking puts lives at risk" - that is the message to car owners this week after firefighters were delayed getting to a house fire in Witham.
A woman was trapped upstairs during the blaze in Greenwell Road during the early hours of last Wednesday (28 July).
But, firefighters were delayed getting to the scene by almost 5 minutes because of badly parked cars in the Gershwin Estate.
They had to use their sirens to wake residents up to move the cars.
Watch Manager Andy Mott, from Witham Fire Station, said:
"During a house fire, seconds count, especially when there is somebody trapped inside the property.
"Any delay to an incident puts lives at risks and it’s frustrating when these delays are caused by people who park inconsiderately.
"We were really worried about the woman inside during that five minute delay and only had one route to reach the house fire.
"Thankfully, we did reach the incident quickly and were able to rescue the woman from her bedroom.
"We had to give her first aid as she’d breathed in smoke and had burns to one of her hands.
"I would urge Witham residents to consider how they park, please consider if a fire engine or other emergency vehicle can fit through when you park.
"Bad parking puts lives at risk."
Firefighters visited the Gershwin Estate the next day (29 July) to see if they could fit a fire engine through the parked cars, and spoke with residents who had parked inconsiderately.
Crews put leaflets on cars where they could not give advice to the owners and also used the time to give home fire safety advice to residents.