FIRE chiefs in Somerset are warning homeowners to get their chimneys swept and checked for safety.

And, with 80% of the UK’s thatched properties in the county and neighbouring Devon, they particularly want people with cottages to take care – especially when they light open fires or stoves that haven't been used since the winter.

The warning follows a chimney fire in High Street, Wiveliscombe, on Wednesday evening (April 15), which saw firefighters from Williton use specialist equipment to tackle the blaze, which was discovered in the flue of a wood burner.

“To keep yourself and your family safe from fire you should take care to have your chimney swept regularly, depending upon what fuel you burn,” said Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service’s community safety prevention manager, Marc House.

“If the worst should happen, a smoke alarm can give you the extra time you need to escape in a house fire – make sure you test yours regularly.”

Homes with thatched roofs are at the highest risk, because fire can be difficult to detect, initially, and can rapidly get out of control.

While modern, enclosed solid fuel appliances are designed to burn efficiently and cleanly, flues often pass through old chimneys, where there is only a four-inch thickness of brick.

That increases the risk of heat build-up in the bricks which can become so great that the adjoining thatch catches light.

“Once a fire has taken hold within a roof it will spread rapidly, due to the very nature of how thatch burns; and often the results are devastating,” Mr House added.

“A thatched home can be ruined not only by the fire, but by the amount of water needed to put it out; within an ancient cottage water can dissolve old cob walls as well as causing serious water damage throughout.”