Mum praises teen's reaction to snow globe fire
Supplied"I was just thinking I need to get out of the house with the dog," said 14-year-old Poppy, after she discovered a fire when she was home alone.
She raised the alarm to call firefighters to her family's home near Norwich when light was refracted though a glass snow globe on a windowsill and caused a pencil case to catch fire.
She called her mum, Sarah, who had popped to the shops, and followed instructions to get out and take the dog.
Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service has warned of the potential danger of keeping glass objects in direct sunlight since the close call. A spokesperson added: "Well done to Poppy for her quick thinking and calm actions, which helped ensure the incident ended safely."
Sarah had gone into Norwich but her daughter had wanted to stay home on that day, earlier this month, as she intended to take a nap.
"I saw the smoke coming out of my sister's room," said Poppy. "But it didn't smell like smoke, it was like some incense sort of thing."
Sarah said when her daughter called about the fire she felt "the sheer panic of being stuck in the city".
It was about 17:30 BST and she was frantic about how to get home during rush hour traffic.
Poppy followed her mum's instructions but had been initially "confused" as what she saw "didn't look like proper smoke and it didn't smell like what I thought it should smell like".
She continued: "I thought it could get quite bad so luckily I got out of the house with the dog.
"When I was outside and could see the smoke coming out of my sister's room, that's when I began to panic."
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Sarah arrived home about 25 minutes later, to see the house surrounded by firefighters.
She was full of praise for her daughter, especially after reviewing footage from a camera in their kitchen.
She could see Poppy, who has received fire safety education through attending Brownies and Scouts, calmly putting the lead on the family pet, Charlie.
"It's remarkable - she was doing all the right things - while on the phone to 999," added Sarah.
She said there was "quite a commotion" at the home, but "one of the firemen was a friend's dad so it was really reassuring for Poppy to see a face she knew, because it was quite scary".
Sarah said: "She was quite shaken, obviously at the time, and for a day or two afterwards she was really worried about safety, and nothing being on the windowsills."
Refraction risk
The fire service sent two crews, from Earlham and Hethersett, to the incident but they found it had "self-extinguished".
The service highlighted the incident on social media as an example of "how everyday household items can unexpectedly start a fire".
A spokesperson said: "This is as an important reminder to keep glass ornaments, mirrors and other reflective objects away from direct sunlight and combustible materials, particularly on windowsills."
Sarah said she was "always conscious" of not having things like mirrors or aerosols on windowsills where they could get hot.
Warning others to take note, she added she did not know her daughter had put the snow globe on her windowsill, but admitted "I probably would not have thought much of it".
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