Firefighters were called on Tuesday when a faulty washing machine sparked a blaze in a garden shed.
Smoke could be seen up and down Hugh Street when the concrete outhouse, just inches from the back door of a home in the Sallyport area of St Mary’s, caught fire as tenant Rachel Gaulton was decorating upstairs.
Rachel said she discovered the fire, understood to have been caused by a washing machine housed inside the shed, when she heard a ‘bang’ at around 11.45am and thought it was someone knocking at the door.
Heading outside to investigate, she saw smoke billowing out of the shed - and realised the ‘bang’ had been its asbestos roof tiles popping and shooting into the air.
Rachel, who lives in the council-owned property with son Conor, 13, and Caylem, 8, was forced to move to a safer spot down the road as tiles soared upwards, some even clearing the roof of the house and landing in the front garden.
Five of the Islands’ retained firefighters, called by concerned neighbours whilst Rachel was still in the house, quickly doused the blaze. Tarpaulin was then placed around the shed roof to prevent asbestos dust floating into the air.
Asbestos, though considered fire-proof, can explode under intense heat, releasing fibres into the air which can cause lung damage if inhaled.
The fire crew returned three hours later on instruction from the Council to further board up the shed, the contents of which also included a dryer, lifejackets, dinghys and other beach equipment, and garden implements.
“We’ll have to wash some bedding and curtains in the house, though fortunately all the windows were closed,” said Rachel, who runs the Kavorna cafe/restaurant with partner Richard Smith.
“I just feel very lucky. If the washing machine had been inside the house, there could have been a major fire. We’ve lost the washer and dryer, but it could have been a very different story.”