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Mum's warning about hot ashes after oil tank fire

Adam Mandeville and Claire GrahamBBC News NI
News imageVictoria Nichols A headshot of Victoria Nichols, who has long brown hair, she is sitting in front of a grey stone wall and is looking slightly off to the left of the camera.Victoria Nichols
Victoria Nichols said she was relieved things did not turn out worse

A woman from County Antrim has said she wants to spread awareness of the danger of hot ash after her oil tank burst into flames in the early hours of Boxing Day.

After spending Christmas Day together, Victoria Nichols and her family were woken by a bang.

The tank, which had at least 500 litres (110 gallons) of oil in it, was beside a bin which contained ashes from a fire.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) advised people to be very careful where they disposed of ashes.

Ms Nichols told BBC News NI's Evening Extra that her husband Graeme had disposed of ashes on Christmas morning, as the family do on a daily basis.

Throughout the day the family passed the bin several times and did not see anything wrong.

She said the ashes were cold and 16 hours passed between them being put in the bin and the fire starting.

News imageVictoria Nichols Doorbell footage showing the fire - the blaze is to the right of the image and is engulfing a wooden fence. To the top left a person can be seen with their arms on their head. The image is mostly red and orange due to the light from the fire, with some black to the left.Victoria Nichols
Doorbell footage shows how the blaze spread rapidly

In the early hours of Boxing Day, Ms Nichols' father-in-law Keith was woken by a bang.

He looked out the window and saw a fire in the back garden and rushed outside to see what was going on.

He found the oil tank engulfed in flames.

"Being woken up during the night, you're in a deep sleep and then you wake up to being told there's a fire," Ms Nichols said.

"It's just your worst nightmare.

"My eldest daughter came running down the stairs. My first instinct was we need to get these kids out of this house."

While her husband and father-in-law attempted to douse the fire with a garden hose, Ms Nichols transported her children to their neighbours and contacted the fire service.

Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after 03:00 GMT and successfully subdued the fire.

News imageVictoria Nichols The back of the house showing where the oil tank once stood - it is surrounded by the remains of a wooden fence which has been burnt down, only blackened ashes remain. On the ground ashes and foam from the firefighting can be seen. An outbuilding is to the right of the image.Victoria Nichols
The oil tank was been beside a bin which contained ashes from earlier that day

She said she had been plagued by "what ifs" since the incident.

"What if my father in law hadn't woke up? What if the wind had been blowing another way? What would have happened?" she said.

She wants her experience to act as a lesson for others.

"I would never want this to happen to another family," she said.

She said she wanted people to think carefully about how they disposed of ashes - and what they would do in the event of a fire.

"Think about how you can get your family out of a house safely because it's something I never thought I would have to do," she said.

News imageVictoria Nichols The back of the house showing where the oil tank once stood - it is surrounded by the remains of a wooden fence which has been burnt down, only blackened ashes remain. A concrete slab can be seen in the centre of the image. Victoria Nichols
Ms Nichols' husband and father-in-law attempted to douse the fire with a garden hose

In a statement, NIFRS said people should be very careful where they disposed of ashes and issued a reminder about the importance of having working smoke alarms.

"The advice from the fire service is to let all ashes to fully cool before disposing of them, keep them out for a number of days in a steel container," a spokesperson said.

"Keep containers away from the house, wheely bins, and oil tanks."