Improvised heating sources Tea light stove triggers large-scale fire service operation in Much
Much · A tea light stove triggered a large scale fire service operation in Much on Sunday morning. The improvised heating source caused a strong development of smoke.
A fire on the ground floor of a block of flats in the Much district of Marienfeld was reported to the rescue control centre of the Rhein-Sieg district at around 11.50 on Sunday morning. The cause was a fire started by a so-called tea light stove.
Because they were at an internal meeting at the fire station in Much, the volunteers were able to respond in large numbers within just two minutes. An emergency doctor from Oberberg, two ambulances and the police were also there.
When they arrived on the scene in the centre of Marienfeld, a family of four on the upper floor of the two-storey residential building made themselves seen at the windows. They had stayed in their flat because of the smoke in the stairwell and the smell of fire. However, as the situation was not yet health-threatening, the fire fighters led the occupants of both flats on the upper floor, a total of four adults and two children, into the open air.
When they entered the ground floor flat they found it was empty, but a tea light stove had been left unattended. A tea light stove is a simple construction made of several ceramic flowerpots and tea lights. Instructions on how to build such stoves, which are supposed to save heating costs, are popular on video platforms such as TikTok and they they have triggered a real trend. In the current case, the construction was fitted with six to eight tea lights, and other individual lit tea lights were found scattered around the flat.
According to the fire brigade, there had been a build-up of heat under the pots of the tea light stove, which had already caused one pot to crack. In addition, there had been a build-up of soot and a strong development of smoke, which spread from the living rooms through the cracks in the doors to the stairwell. The smoke was cleared from the rooms using a pressure ventilator. Fortunately, there was no major damage.
Tests seen on the internet and on television show that a tea light stove has very little effect on heating up a flat. Because open flames consume oxygen, you need to ventilate the rooms. This could cause the room temperature to drop again. In contrast, there is no way to tell what the consequences of a tea light stove might be - especially if it is left unattended or is used during sleep. The fire brigade in Much is worried that there will be more similar incidents in the future.
Original text: Christof Schmoll / Translation: Jean Lennox
