Coronation Street story to highlight dangers of fire

The fire scene in Coronation Street.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service have recently worked in collaboration with the producers of Coronation Street to highlight the dangers of accidental fires in the home and the importance of maintaining a working smoke alarm.

In a plot due to be broadcast tomorrow night (Monday 30 March) Peter Barlow falls asleep with a cigarette, after having a drink, setting the flat on fire where he and Simon his son live. It is discovered that the smoke alarm in the flat has also had the battery removed.

In dramatic scenes both of them are overcome by the smoke and fumes from the fire and have to be rescued by neighbours – just before the Fire and Rescue Service arrive.

The storyline comes after statistics showed that there were 31 accidental fires caused by carelessly discarded smoking materials in Rochdale last year.

A Coronation Street spokesperson said: “The character of Peter Barlow has been struggling with an alcohol problem and this spills over this week with potentially tragic results. Not only has he been drinking, and therefore falls asleep smoking, but he has also taken the batteries out the smoke alarm and not replaced them.

"It’s an oversight that leaves his son Simon fighting for his life. Hopefully this highlights a very serious issue and will lead viewers to think about their own fire safety.”

Jim Owen, Assistant County Fire Officer(Fire Safety) for GMFRS said: “We would like to thank the producers of Coronation Street for helping us to highlight the very real dangers that situations like this can put people in. Too many times fire fighters are called to real life situations that mirror these dramatic scenes, very often with tragic consequences. Last year alone in Greater Manchester we attended over three hundred accidental fires in someone’s home – caused by carelessly discarded smoking materials- if you then add in a smoke alarm that isn’t working you have a real recipe for disaster."

He continued “Since 2004 we have fitted over 200 000 smoke alarms, fitted with ten year batteries, for free, as part of our Home Fire Risk Assessment service, which is available to all residents of Greater Manchester."