| The ex-prime minister of the United Kingdom, Tony | | | | went off. In fact it was just smoke without a fire |
| Blair is just like everyone else. It has been revealed | | | | but by the time Mrs Blair rang the fire service to tell |
| he likes a bit of toast for his breakfast with wife | | | | them they didn't need to come, they were already |
| Cherie just like the rest of us. Of course toast can | | | | on their way." |
| be like a boiled egg and not a skill everyone has | | | | He said it was "all rather embarrassing" and Mrs Blair |
| succeeded at mastering. This is evident as Tony Blair | | | | would be sending the fire service a "big thank you |
| burnt his toast and set off the smoke alarm in his | | | | note". |
| house. | | | | Old properties such as this one can easily catch fire |
| The Blair's live in a grade 1 listed 17th century house | | | | due to their construction which includes a lot of |
| in Wotton Underwood and had working smoke | | | | materials such as wood. Any building which is listed as |
| alarms. Due to the grade 1 listing of the property the | | | | grade 1 in the UK has smoke alarms fitted and these |
| detectors were automatically connected to the fire | | | | must be connected to the fire brigade so as they |
| service and so crews arrived rapidly to the scene. | | | | can respond to a fire quickly. |
| In fact the fire brigade was so fast in its response to | | | | The UK actively looks to protect the heritage of its |
| the fire alarm on their system that they arrived | | | | ancient buildings and has strict fire regulations in place |
| before anyone could tell them that it was a simple | | | | which is a very good thing. |
| case of burst toast and nothing to be concerned | | | | Make sure your home is protected and fit a working |
| about. The fire brigade promptly gave the Blair's | | | | smoke alarm. In the kitchen you should place a heat |
| some basic fire safety advice for future reference | | | | alarm and in any room adjacent an optical smoke |
| such as don't leave toast cooking unsupervised. | | | | alarm should also be fitted. The use of an optical |
| When bread is toasted it is a combustible material | | | | detector will reduce the likely hood of a false alarm |
| and as such can ignite and quickly cause a home or | | | | going off if some food accidentally gets a bit smokey |
| kitchen fire. This is why it's so important to install | | | | while cooking. An ionisation alarm works differently |
| working smoke detectors in any home. | | | | from an optical model and is far more likely to go off |
| This was a small incident and on the face of it | | | | when there is no threat of fire. These should be |
| nothing to worry about. But it could have caused a | | | | placed in other areas of the house away from the |
| real fire and put lives at risk if no alarm had been | | | | kitchen. |
| present to alert the residents and fire brigade. | | | | You can get free smoke alarms and safety advice |
| A spokesperson for Tony and Cherie Blair said, "The | | | | from your local fire service in the UK. |
| Blair's were cooking breakfast when the smoke alarm | | | | |
