Family nearly killed in major house fire caused by teenager’s e-cigarette

A TEENAGER and his devastated family are "lucky to be alive" after his charging e-cig burst into flames and nearly burnt down the family home.
Nathan Holt woke up just in time to warn his parents and 17-year-old brother Joshua, before the family managed to escape the early morning blaze.

The family home of 25 years in Horwich, Greater Manchester, has been left with significant damage following the fire - Nathan's father described the 15-year-old's bedroom as "like a shell".

"The family, and the lad in particularly, are lucky to be alive. He should buy a Lotto ticket, because his luck is definitely in.
"How nobody was injured is beyond me, but it's a huge relief. The family had smoke alarms downstairs, but not upstairs and we gave them advice on that.
"We would also appeal to people to ensure that they only use these chargers during the daytime so they can react quickly if anything goes wrong."

Mr Holt said: "The fire has caused a lot of damage upstairs. Nathan's room is just like a shell. There is nothing on the walls and the hallway is badly damaged.
"My wife and children have been forced to go and stay with friends and I have been sleeping downstairs in the living room. We are still in shock.

"We had no idea Nathan had an e-cigarette in his bedroom. We are waiting for the insurance company to come and assess the damage, but I am worried we will have to move house if the insurance doesn't cover it.

"We have lived here for 25 years and we had no intentions of moving. The main thing is that we are all still alive, it could have been a lot worse.

"I would tell anyone with an e-cigarette to watch out. I don't know anything about them but if they are capable of exploding they can cause serious harm.

"I think it is something that people need to be aware of, because it could become a problem.
"It's so fortunate that we could all get out. I'm surprised that none of us were injured."

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