Animals caused three of the strangest blazes tackled by London Fire Brigade in 2013, new research reveals.
A dog, mouse and pigeon were to blame for three fires among a study of 2,000 call-outs in the capital. The research was compiled to raise awareness of fire safety but it uncovered some truly weird cases.
One involved a dog that turned on a toaster when it jumped up onto a kitchen worktop in search of food. The toaster then set fire to a nearby bag.
The mouse caused a fridge freezer to catch fire after it crawled behind it and shorted out its electrics. The pigeon started a fire in a chimney when it dropped a cigarette into a bird’s nest.
Away from the incidents blamed on animals, a teenage boy caused an explosion by spraying deodorant on himself before a date and then managed to set the can alight, while someone tried to dry a toilet roll in a microwave oven after dropping it down the toilet.
Copyright Press Association 2013