Creswell mum-of-two loses everything after tumble dryer ignites

Courtney Turner, 26, who lost everything in the blaze, described how she had to grab her three-month-old son and ‘run’ from the Ann Street property as flames engulfed it.

Outside, as firefighters battled the fire, one told her ‘if you’d been one-minute later you wouldn’t have got out’.

The terrified mum had been upstairs when she smelt smoke and dashed downstairs to fetch son Albie.

However fire coming from the dryer in the cupboard under her stairs completely burned through the stairwell moments after she reached the ground floor.

Courtney, whose other child - three-year-old Peyton - was at nursery at the time, said at about 3pm on Friday she smelt smoke.

She had just been cleaning her cooker so assumed she had flicked one of its knobs however as she opened her lounge door she saw baby Albie ‘surrounded by smoke’.

She said: “As I opened the door to the cupboard where I keep the dryer thick, black smoke came pouring out - you couldn’t see anything - so I got my son and ran outside with him.

“The fireman said there was probably a fault with my dryer and the bearings would have worn - making it get hotter and hotter when it’s being used.

“I’d bought it second-hand and it had been repaired but I remember saying to my mum the day before that it was making a funny, banging noise.

“But after it stopped I just assumed it was a zip or something metal on the clothes making the noise.”

Worryingly, it had caught alight four hours after she had last used it.

Full-time mum Courtney, who is now living with her mother, said the house was now ‘uninhabitable’ after everything was ‘melted and smoke-damaged’ by the blaze.

She said: “It’s ruined everything - all I’ve salvaged is a few clothes so I’ll have to start all over again.”

Since the fire the community has rallied round offering everything from furniture to white goods - with help from local group the Community Unity Project.

Shaken Courtney said she wanted to warn others about the dangers of faulty dryers.

She said: “If it’s making a grinding or banging noise it’s broken so don’t use it - turn it off and get rid of it. It’s not worth the devastation it causes.”

A spokesman for the fire service confirmed appliances from Stavely and Warsop attended the blaze.

Two firefighters in breathing apparatus and two hose reel jets were used to tackle the fire.

He added that householders should register older appliances as manufacturers may identify problems with a model once the product has been in use for some time.

“They then need to contact owners to get the fault corrected as quickly as possible. Normally a quick in-home fix by a qualified technician will remove any risk,” he added.

To register your appliance click HERE.

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