A THURROCK mum who believes it was a miracle that she and her family were not caught up in a potential fire tragedy has warned fellow residents to be alert to the danger of faulty electrics in borough tower blocks.

Jade Palmer lives in Tasmania House in Tilbury and earlier this week she was roused from her sleep at around 4.30 on Sunday morning (11 June) by the sound of the smoke alarm in her flat going off – and the rooms becoming filled with smoke.

She says: "It was a really scary experience, thank god we had the smoke alarm. If not I dread to think what might have happened."

The problem was an overheating switch to a storage heater which had begun to burn, giving off smoke that fired the alarm. Jade turned off other electrical appliances in the flat and then fled it with her children. Fortunately the switch stopped smouldering and Jade says she was eventually able to return to the flat.

However, she has been shocked with what she describes as a lack of an urgent response by the landlord Thurrock Council.

Yesterday (Wednesday), she told Thurrock Nub News: "The council didn't seem particularly bothered and they haven't repaired the problem yet. A man came round, looked at it and went away.

"These flats are damp and I think that has contributed to the problem. I would advise anyone in the flats to check their switches and see if they are overheating. They should definitely get a smoke alarm.

"The council doesn't seem too bothered and they don't think this was serious but I was very scared and I worry about it now.

"I think the switch could have easily caught light and who knows what would have happened then."

A statement from the council says: "The issue was in an isolation switch for a storage heater. There was no fault in the heater itself.

"The technician attending did not see any signs of smoke damage but did report that there was a smell of burning near the affected isolation switch.

"It is normal practice where out of hours emergency calls are received that a qualified tradesperson will attend and ensure that the property and issue are safe.

"Emergency repairs are carried out within 24 hours, usually on the same day they are reported. Once emergency repairs have been completed the resident is contacted to make arrangements for a permanent repair to take place.

"In calls involving isolation switches failing this most normally involves isolating the circuit the switch is on until arrangements can be made with the resident for it to be replaced and any damage repaired."