This is the burnt-out bedroom of a teenage girl forced to flee for her life after her iPhone charger sparked a major fire.
Caitlin Rae Durant, 15, from north Wales, escaped from the blaze but all her possessions have been destroyed and her family cannot return home for six months.
Fire chiefs released the images of her destroyed bedroom in a stark warning to families about leaving phone chargers plugged in.
Caitlin’s charger was a genuine Apple product, but it was left on overnight with the phone resting on her covers, causing it to overheat and as a result the entire room was engulfed in flames.
After: This is the devastated bedroom belonging to Caitlin Rae Durant, 15, caused when a fire was sparked by her iPhone charger
Before: Caitlin, from north Wales, escaped from the blaze but all her possessions have been destroyed – the family home has also been badly damaged
The bedroom was left strewn with ashes – and there was severe smoke damage on the rest of the floor of the family home at Morfa Bychan, near Porthmadog.
Firefighters have warned that it demonstrates how quickly fires can spread.
Stuart Millington, senior fire safety manager at North Wales Police, gave out a list of advice – and said: ‘Turn chargers off and unplug them before you go to bed.
‘Never leave items on charge or unattended for long periods.’
Her mother Gemma said her home is wrecked – and they face six months in a rented home.
She said: ‘Everything upstairs, my other daughters room and the office has also been destroyed due to heat, smoke and water damage, nothing can be saved.
‘Downstairs has been flooded due to the volume of water that had to be pumped in to extinguish the fire, everything has suffered smoke damage.
‘At the moment we’re waiting to see if the experts think some items down stairs can be saved if professionally cleaned and restored.
‘My point is, although the fire was contained to one room the after effects are enormous, we may well have lost almost all of our possessions. The house will have to be ripped apart top to bottom, we will not be able to get back into our home for up to six months.
‘Thank you to everyone that has been in touch today sending their love, offers of help and clothes for kids, it’s been amazing how many people have thought of us today.
Warning: North Wales Fire and Rescue Service have released the images, including this one of her phone and charger, and encouraged people to buy genuine equipment
The fire brigade were there so quickly, did an amazing job and really do risk their lives for the good of others, no measure of thank you would ever be enough. We are all OK – my babies are all OK.’
Fire safety officer also gave advice for minimising the risk of a fire due to phone charges.
It included only ever purchase chargers from a reputable source; always follow the manufacturer’s instructions and guidance, always charge your phone on a hard surface, and do not charge it on bedding or any combustible surface.’
A spokesman said: ‘Make sure you have a working smoke alarm installed in your property and test it weekly.’
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