Bell Green mum blames bottle steriliser for blaze that wrecked her home

Becky Bacon said she was thankful that her children weren't in the house at the time



A mother-of-four says her home has been wrecked by a devastating blaze started by a baby’s bottle steriliser.

Becky Bacon, aged 25, and her four children have been forced out of their home in Cherrybrook Way, Bell Green , after a fire tore through their kitchen on April 15.

She says the fire was started by the bottle steriliser - which she had left on while she popped out of the house with her children.

The official cause of the fire is still to be determined by investigators.

Becky said that she left the brand new appliance on for five minutes as she went across the road to the local shop.

She said: “I went to cash machine and when I came back I heard the smoke alarm going off and saw black smoke coming out.

“I just can’t get my head around it. It just devastated me. The kids are traumatised.

“They aren ‘t going to sleep. My two-year-old keeps crying.”

“I thank my lucky stars that the kids weren’t in there. If they were in their bedroom then they probably wouldn’t have survived that.”

West Midlands Fire Service said that 80 per cent of the kitchen was damaged by fire while the entire property has been smoke damaged.

One firefighter who attended said: “Basically it could have been caused by a faulty baby milk bottle steriliser. It set on fire when the mother was out.”

Since the accident Becky and her family have been living at her father’s house until repairs are completed.

She has just completed decorating the house and has now been told that her housing association will not pay for repairs.

She said: “At the moment they’ve not given me a price yet. It’s going to need a brand new boiler. That’s expensive on its own.”

Asked why she didn’t have house insurance, Becky said: “I honestly never thought about it - with working part time and with four children I’ve got enough bills going out.

Since the fire Becky’s friends have set up a fundraising page to help her pay for the repairs.

A spokeswoman for Whitefriars Housing Association said: “We are grateful that no one was hurt in this incident.

“We are discussing the situation with the customer but it is early days and until we have a clearer picture, we are not able to comment about this particular case.

“Thankfully house fires and the extensive damage they cause are rare but there are steps that customers can take to reduce the risk of their occurrence.

“We strongly recommend that customers do not leave electrical appliances unattended and to test their smoke alarms on a weekly basis.”

Go to https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/BeckyBacon if you wish to donate to the help Becky and her kids get back on their feet.

The Telegraph has contacted the manufacturer of the bottle steriliser for a comment.

It cost her £10,000 in the end!

She should have had 'Tenants Liability Insurance' such as the one sold by Urban Jungle or similar. The first £100 of damage isn't covered but a £100 bill is easier to pay than a £10,000 bill.

Some contents insurance policies include tenants liabilty as standard but others don't.

Whitefriars used to offer contents insurance of their own but don't any more.

Beware that some search results only offer tenants liability as a lure to sell a much more expensive fully comprehensive home insurance policy.

I would have thought it was compulsory to carry such insurance as part of the terms of tenancy?

I know my mortgage company once thought (wrongly) I had let my insurance lapse. They were not only on the ball, but told me in no uncertain terms that if I didn't correct the situation PDQ, they would invoke their own insurance and add it to my mortgage. - B*ggers didn't apologise either!

I would have thought it was compulsory to carry such insurance as part of the terms of tenancy?

Strangely not and seldom is from what I've read. It doesn't cover criminal damage or damage when moving between properties either. It's unclear whether contents or building insurance do or not, it seems to vary from one company to another.

I know my mortgage company once thought (wrongly) I had let my insurance lapse. They were not only on the ball, but told me in no uncertain terms that if I didn't correct the situation PDQ, they would invoke their own insurance and add it to my mortgage. - B*ggers didn't apologise either!

Britannia allowed my house contents policy to lapse and when I tried to renew it asked double. I told them to stuff it. As I'd previously paid a year in advance by credit card I assumed they would automatically renew it before it expired like almost everyone else does (including Urban Jungle).

I also found out the hard way that paying extra for legal costs doesn't cover tenancy disputes.