A FAMILY was forced to leave their home after a fire ripped through their loft destroying their roof.
At just before 8.30pm on Sunday (January 13) firefighters were called to Ludlow Road in Blacon after reports of a house fire.
Neighbours were evacuated as flames ripped through the roof of the family home, after a candle was left burning unattended in the loft conversion.
Firefighters from Chester fire station spent under an hour battling the blaze, trying to contain it within the roof of the house and protect nearby properties.
The fire, which left the house uninhabitable, reducing the loft to a burnt out shell and burning a hole in the back of the roof, is thought to have been started by a candle left on a TV stand in the loft conversion while the mum was at work and the children were out.
No one was hurt in the blaze, but firefighters fitted new smoke alarms in the house and neighbouring homes after discovering neither had working fire alarms.
Chester fire station watch manager Chris Durkin said: “Both properties had smoke detectors but neither were working.
“Having smoke detectors for early warning can save lives.”
