An Oxfordshire resident’s dishwasher caught on fire whilst him and his family were doing an online quiz.

Seventy-two-year-old Bicester resident Richard Giles, who lives in Kingsmere, was at home with his wife and daughter participating in an online quiz when a power outage hit their house.

After Mr Giles managed to turn the power back on, he noticed black smoke coming from behind the dishwasher.

On closer inspection, he saw flames coming from the side of the appliance.

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One of Mr Giles’s friends taking part in the quiz from another household happened to be a senior fire brigade officer, who told Mr Giles and his family to turn the power off and leave the house immediately.

Tara Cochrane, Mr Giles’s stepdaughter, called the fire brigade.

Mr Giles said: “We were only outside for about six minutes before Bicester’s fire brigade arrived.

“They were closely followed by fire engines from Oxford and Kidlington.

“We were told that three fire engines had been sent in case the fire spread and became a full-on house fire.

“It was quite surreal. There were sirens, fire engines, neighbours asking how they could help, fire brigade staff going into the house in breathing apparatus.

“It was the most frightening thing I have ever experienced, just waiting there to see if your home was going to become engulfed in fire.

“But the fire brigades were absolutely brilliant.”

 

Read more from this author

This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

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