A chimney fire attended in Westport last night has highlighted the danger of people taking batteries out of smoke alarms to be used in other gadgets.
Westport Volunteer Fire Brigade fire chief Alan Kennedy said they were called to a Mill Street house at 9.10pm after a passing police patrol noted the occupant outside and in difficulty.
The chimney was emitting the usual sparks and flames from an unclean chimney and was relatively straightforward to contain.
Mr Kennedy said the smoke-filled house had plenty of smoke alarms but "typically" the batteries had been robbed and used for other things. He said the brigade encountered the scenario all too frequently. Often it was because families with small children who had a plethora of battery operated toys removed the smoke alarm batteries for a quick fix.
"You don't have to be a rocket scientist when you see the toys about the place," he said.
Meanwhile, the brigade was called out twice to Westport New World for false alarm calls since early yesterday morning, firstly at 6am yesterday and again at 8.30am today for what appeared to be an issue with overheated lighting fixtures.
